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DURUY'S  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  Edited 
by  J.  F.  Jameson.  With  12  Colored 
Maps.     l2mo,  cloth,  $2.00. 

DURUY'S  GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  THE 
WORLD,  Revised  and  continued  by 
Edwin  A.  Grosvenor.  With  25  Colored 
Maps.     l2mo,  cloth,  $2.00. 

DURUY'S  ANCIENT  HISTORY.  Revised 
by  Edwin  A.  Grosvenor.  With  Colored 
Maps.     l2nno,  cloth,  $1.00. 

CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  (1848-1899). 
By  Edwin  A.  Grosvenor.  With  Colored 
Maps.     l2nno,  cloth,  $1.00. 

HALLAM'S  MIDDLE  AGES.  New  Edition, 
with  Colored  Maps.     l2mo,  cloth,  $1.50. 


THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  &  COMPANY, 

NEW   YORK   AND    BOSTON. 


CONTEMPORARY    HISTORY 
OF  THE  WORLD 


BY 
EDWIN   A.    GROSVENOR 

PROFESSOR  OF  EUROPEAN  HISTORY  IN  AMHERST  COLLEGK 


:>HH=> 


NEW  YORK:  46  East  14th  Street 

THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  &  COMPANY 

BOSTON :  100  Purchase  Street 


COPTBIGHT,   1898  AND  1899, 

Bt  THOMAS  Y.   CKOWELL  <Sc  CO. 


Nortoooli  13"B« 

J.  S.  CuBhing  &  Co.  ~  Berwick  ft  Smith 
Norwood  Mast.  U.S.A. 


INTRODUCTION 


This  book  attempts  to  outline  the  most  prominent  political 
events  in  Europe  and  North  America  during  the  last  fifty 
years.  Hardly  more  than  rapid  indication  of  their  distinc- 
tive and  important  features  can  be  crowded  into  a  few  score 
pages.  Moreover,  adequate  treatment  must  be  the  work,  not 
of  contemporaries,  but  of  a  far  later  time.  What  is  recent 
has  a  tendency  to  till  the  eye  and  destroy  perspective. 
Mistakes  of  judgment  and  even  of  fact  are  liable  in  con- 
sequence of  nearness. 

None  the  less  there  is  a  place  and  a  demand  for  such  a 
book  as  this  aims  to  be.  It  was  first  designed  as  continua- 
tion of  M.  Duruy's  splendid  "  General  History,"  which  ends 
with  the  year  1848.  It  endeavors  to  follow  the  method  and 
style  of  which  the  brilliant  French  historian  was  consum- 
mate master.  Not  content  with  mere  narration,  he  sought 
to  trace  out  both  the  cause  and  its  result.  These  pages  deal 
with  a  period  that  is  seldom  touched.  Histories  of  every 
other  past  period  abound,  but  not  of  this,  so  fresh  in  our 
experience  that  it  trenches  upon  the  present. 

The  year  1848,  with  which  it  commences,  must  be  reckoned 
one  of  the  turning-points  in  human  history.  The  popular 
movements  which  it  inaugurated  were  soon  apparently 
checked  or  diverted  into  other  channels.  Nevertheless,  at 
last  an  impulse  had  been  imparted,  which,  however  delayed, 
was  no  less  surely  to  advance  toward  a  definite  goal.  The 
glacier,  held  back  for  a  time,  was  speedily  to  resume  its 
resistless  course.  The  map  of  the  world,  despite  the  mo- 
mentous changes  traced  upon  it  during  the  last  half  century, 
discloses  only  a  small  part  of  the  transformations  which  that 
half  century  has  wrought.  Yet  no  other  period  of  equal 
duration  has  witnessed  so  many  and  so  varied  political 
changes.     It  saw  the  feudal  atoms  of  Germany  fused  into 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

one  imperial  whole.  It  saw  the  fragments  of  Italy,  for  the 
first  time  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  united  in 
common  law  under  the  rule  of  a  single  throne.  It  saw  the 
Balkan  provinces  take  their  place  as  independent  States. 
During  this  half  century  Africa  and  Oceania  have  been  par- 
celled out  and  occupied  by  the  Western  Powers.  The  indi- 
viduality of  Asia  has  been  lost  in  their  incessant  aggressions. 
The  American  Union  has  crossed  the  continent  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  has  almost  doubled  the  number  of  its 
states,  and  more  than  trebled  its  population. 

Yet  the  changes  it  has  seen  in  the  world's  activities  and 
thought  are  greater  than  upon  the  world's  face.  Old  ques- 
tions have  been  decided  or  pushed  aside,  and  new  questions, 
of  which  our  grandfathers  did  not  dream,  await  the  dawning 
twentieth  century.  Commercial  and  social  problems  have 
forged  to  the  front.  Development  of  the  individual  battles 
with  the  concentration  of  authority.  As  Menu's  age  of 
thought  paled  before  Fulton's  age  of  steam,  so  that  in  its 
turn  is  being  eclipsed  by  the  age  of  electricity  of  Edison  and 
Bell.  Grand  things  will  they  behold  who  are  to  come  after 
us.  And  we  ourselves  cannot  know  too  much  of  the  days  in 
which  we  live. 


EDWIN  A.   GROSVENOR. 


Amherst,  Mass.,  U.S.A., 
February  9,  1899. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I.     The  Eevolution  of  1848  in  its  Influence  upon  Europe        1 

Contemporary  History. 

Outbreak  at  Vienna  and  Fall  of  Metternich. 

Troubles  in  Bohemia. 

Revolt  in  Hungary. 

Commotions  in  Italy. 

Popular  Demands  in  Prussia  and  in  Other  German  States. 

The  German  National  Assembly. 

II.     The  Second  French  Republic  (1848-1852)     ...        7 
The  Provisional  Government, 
Barricades  of  June. 
General  Discontent. 

Presidency  of  Louis  Napoleon.  ^ 

The  Coup  d'Etat. 

III.  Triumph  of  Reaction  in  Europe  (1848-1851)         .         .       11 

Subjugation  of  Hungary. 

Return  to  Absolutism  in  Austria. 

Defeat  and  Abdication  of  Charles  Albert. 

Conservatism  of  Pius  IX. 

Dissolution  of  the  General  Assembly  at  Frankfort. 

IV.  The  Second  French  Empire  (1852-1870)         ...       17 

The  Plebiscites  of  1851  and  1852. 

The  Crimean  War  (1853-1856). 

War  with  Austria  (1859). 

Material  Progress  (1852-1867). 

The  Universal  Exposition  of  1867. 

Humiliations  of  the  Empire. 

The  Franco-Prussian  War  (1870-1871>. 

Sedan. 

Fall  of  the  Empire  (September  4,  1870). 

Surrender  of  Metz  (October  27,  1870). 

Siege  and  Surrender  of  Paris  (January  28,  1871). 

Treaty  of  Frankfort. 

V.  Germany  (1848-1871) 30 

Rivalry  of  Prussia  and  Austria. 

Question  of  Schleswig-Holstein  (1848-1855). 


vi  CONTENTS 


PAas 
King  "William  I  and  Otto  von  Bismarck. 
Austro-Prussian    Occupation    of    Schleswig-Holstein 

(1863-1864). 
Seven  Weeks'  War  between  Prussia  and  Austria  (1866). 
Sadowa  (July  3,  1866). 
Hegemony  of  Prussia  (1866-1871). 
Unification  of  Germany  (1871). 

VI.     The  Third  French  Republic  (1870-1898)    ...      37 
The  Commune  (March  18-May  28,  1871). 
M.  Thiers,  President  of  the  Republic  (1871-1873). 
Presidency  of  Marshal  MacMahon  (1873-1879). 
Presidency  of  M.  Gr6vy  (1879-1887). 
Presidency  of  M.  Sadi  Carnot  (1887-1894). 
Presidency  of  M.  Casimir-P6rier  (1894). 
Presidency  of  M.  Faure  (1895-        ). 
France  in  1898. 


VII.     The  German  Empire  (1871-1898) 50 

The  Imperial  Constitution. 

The  Alliance  of  the  Three  Emperors  (1871-1876). 

Organization  of  Alsace-Lorraine  (1871). 

The  Culturkampf  (1873-1887). 

Economic  Policy  (1878-1890). 

The  Triple  Alliance  (1879-        ). 

Death  of  Emperor  William  I  (March  9,  1888). 

Frederick  I  (1888). 

Reign  of  William  II  (1888-        ). 

VIII.    Italy 67 

Condition  of  the  Italian  Peninsula  in  1850. 

Count  Cavour. 

Piedmont  in  the  Crimean  War  (1855-1856). 

The  War  of  1859. 

Successful  Revolutions.  Victor  Emmanuel  and  Gari- 
baldi (1859-1865).  Alliance  with  Prussia  against 
Austria  (1866). 

Rome  the  Capital  of  Italy  (1870). 

The  Last  Days  of  Victor  Emmanuel  (1870-1878). 

The  Reign  of  King  Humbert  (1878-        ). 

Italia  Irredenta. 

IX.     Austria-Hungary 66 

Accession  of  Francis  Joseph  (1848). 
Austrian  Absolutism  (1850-1866). 
The  Austro-Hungarian   Monarchy  and  Political  Re- 
forms (1866), 


CONTENTS  vii 


Acquisition  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  (1878). 
Austria-Hungary  from  1878  to  1898. 
Political  Problems  of  To-day. 


X.    Russia 73 

Nicholas  I  (1825-1855). 

The  Crimean  War  (1853-1856) 

Alexander  II  (1855-1881). 

Revision  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  (1871). 

The  Russo-Turkish  War  (1877-1878). 

The  Congress  of  Berlin  (1878). 

The  Nihilists. 

Reign  of  Alexander  III  (1881-1894) 

Nicholas  II  (1894-        ). 

XI.     The  Ottoman  Empire 88 

The  Hatti  Sherif  of  Ghul  Khaneh  (1839). 

Massacres  in  the  Lebanon  (1845). 

Question   of    the   Holy  Places.      The   Crimean   War 

(1853-1856). 
The  Hatti  Humayoun  (1856). 
Massacres  at  Djeddah  (1858)  and  in  Syria   (1860). 

European  Intervention. 
Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz  (1861-1876). 
The  Insurrection  of  Crete  (1866-1868). 
Opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  (November  17,  1869). 
Foreign  Loans  and  Bankruptcy. 
Death  of  Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz  (May  27,  1876). 
The  Reign  of  Sultan  Abd-ul  Hamed  II  (1876-        ). 

XII.     The  Balkan  States 99 

The  Five  States. 

Roumania. 

Montenegro. 

Servia. 

Bulgaria. 

Greece. 


XIII.     The  Smaller  European  States 112 

Denmark. 

Sv^eden  and  Norway, 
Switzerland. 
Belgium. 

The  Netherlands  or  Holland. 

The  Five  Smaller  European  States  and  the  Five  Balkan 
States, 


Vlil  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

XIV.     Spain  and  Portugal       .         , 119 

Reign  of  Isabella  II  (1833-1868). 

Revolution    (1868).       Experiments    at    Government 

(1868-1875). 
Restoration  of    the  Dynasty   (1875).     Reign  of  Al- 

phonso  XII  (1875-1885). 
Regency  of  Queen  Maria  Christina  (1885-        ). 
Cuba.     War  with  the  United  States  (1898). 
Portugal.     Death  of  Doila  Maria  da  Gloria  (1853). 
Peaceful  Development  of  Portugal. 


XV.     Great  Britain .128 

The  British  Empire. 

Great  Britain  in  1848. 

Repeal  of  the  Navigation  Lavys  (1849). 

The  Great  Exhibition  (1851). 

The  Part  of  Great  Britain  in  the  Crimean  War  (1853- 

1856). 
Wars  with  Persia  (1857)  and  China  (1857-1860). 
The  Indian  Mutiny  (1857-1858). 
Lord  Palmerston  Prime  Minister  (1859-1865).     Lord 

Russell  Prime  Minister  (October,  1865-July,  1866). 
The  American  Civil  War  (1861-1865). 
Lord  Derby  and  Mr.  Disraeli  Prime  Ministers  (July, 

1866-November,  1868). 
Second  Reform  Bill  (1867). 
Mr.  Gladstone  Prime  Minister  (December,  1868-Feb- 

ruary,  1874).     The  Irish  Question.     The  Alabama 

Claims. 
Second  Prime  Ministry  of  Mr.   Disraeli  (February, 

1874-April,  1880). 
Second  Prime  Ministry  of  Mr.  Gladstone  (April,  1880- 

June,  1885). 
Occupation  of  Egypt  (1882).     General  Gordon. 
Third  Reform  Bill  (June,  1885). 
First  Prime  Ministry  of  Lord  Salisbury  (June,  1885- 

February,    1886).      Third   Prime   Ministry   of   Mr. 

Gladstone    (February,    1886-August,   1886).       The 

Irish  Home  Rule  Bill. 
Second  Prime   Ministry  of  Lord  Salisbury  (August, 

1886-August,  1892). 
Fourth  Prime   Ministry  of  Mr.    Gladstone    (August, 

1892-March,  1894).     Lord  Rosebery  Prime  Minis- 
ter (March,  1894-June,  1895). 
Third    Prime    Ministry    of    Lord    Salisbury    (June, 

1895-        ). 
Characteristics  of  the  Reign  of  Queen  Victoria. 
Mr.  Disraeli  (Lord  Beaconsfield)  and  Mr.  Gladstone. 


CONTENTS  IX 

PAGB 

XVI.     Partition  of  Africa,  Asia,  and  Oceania  .        .        .     141 

Seizure  of  Unoccupied  Territory. 

Occupation  of  Africa. 

The  Boer  Republics. 

Occupation  of  Asia. 

The  Route  to  India. 

Occupation  of  Oceania. 

Results  of  Territorial  Expansion. 

XVn.     The  United  States 150 

American  History. 

Treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo  (1848).     The  Gadsden 

Purchase  (1853). 
The  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  (1850). 
Complications  with  Austria  (1849-1854). 
The  Ostend  Manifesto  (1854). 
Expedition  of  Commodore   Perry  to  Japan   (1852- 

1854). 
The  United  States  and  China  (1858-        ). 
The  Civil  War  (1861-1865). 
Question  of  the  Northwestern  Boundary  (1872). 
The  Newfoundland  Fisheries.    The  Halifax  Award 

(1877). 
The  Centennial  Exhibition  (1876). 
The  Presidential  Election  of  1876. 
Assassination  of  President  Garfield  (1881). 
Civil  Service  Reform  Bill  (1883). 
The  Bering  Sea  Controversy  over  the  Seal  Fishery 

(1886-        ). 
Trouble  with  Chili  (1891-1892). 
The  Columbian  Exhibition  (1893). 
The  Venezuelan  Message  (December  17,  1895). 
Annexation  of  Hawaii  (1898). 
The  War  with  Spain  (1898). 

INDEX 167 


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JJi.jraVLj  Lj  Culiu.,.  ul.i.i.u  i  Cu..  N.  Y. 


CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY 


THE  REVOLUTION  OP  1848  IN  ITS  INFLUENCE 
UPON  EUROPE 

Contemporary  History.  —  The  term  "  contemporary  "  may 
well  be  applied  to  the  history  of  the  world  since  1848.  The 
present  leaders  in  all  branches  of  activity  were  born  before 
this  period  began.  Many  persons  now  living  have  watched 
the  unfolding  of  each  of  its  successive  phases.  It  possesses 
a  distinct  character  of  its  own.  While  preeminent  in  its 
scientific  and  humanitarian  achievements,  it  has  specially 
contributed  to  political  progress,  not  so  much  in  what  it  has 
originated  as  by  what  it  has  developed.  More  than  most 
periods  of  like  duration,  it  is  the  direct  consummation  of 
the  years  immediately  preceding.  It  differs  from  them  as 
the  harvest  differs  from  the  seed-time. 

Its  most  memorable  achievements  in  the  domain  of  poli- 
tics have  been  along  the  lines  of  constitutional  government 
and  unification  of  nationality.  Yet  here  as  everywhere 
else  human  attainment  is  partial  and  incomplete,  but  these 
two  contributions  to  the  advance  of  humanity  will  be  promi- 
nent as  we  narrate  its  story.  Because  we  are  so  near  the 
events  to  be  described  and  because  the  sources  of  informa- 
tion are  so  many,  the  narration  will  be  difficult.  As  con- 
temporaries of  these  events  we  are  ourselves  tossed  by  the 
billows  on  which  we  gaze. 

Outbreak  at  Vienna  and  Fall  of  Metternich.  —  The  prog- 
ress of  the  public  mind  is  indicated  as  we  compare  the  effect 
produced  in  foreign  countries  by  the  successive  French 
revolutions  of  1789,  1830  and  1848.  The  first  revolution 
was  attended  nowhere  by  any  immediate  popular  uprising 
and  apparently  concerned  only  the  kings.     The  second 

1 


2  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848. 

caused  commotions  and  renewed  demands  for  constitutions 
in  some  of  the  smaller  states,  but  the  disturbances  were 
soon  repressed.  The  third  came  upon  Europe  as  an  elec- 
tric shock.  West  of  Russia  and  of  the  Ottoman  Empire 
every  state  was  convulsed. 

Reactionary  Austria,  of  whose  policy  the  astute  Metter- 
nich  had  been  for  almost  forty  years  at  once  the  incarnation 
and  the  champion,  was  among  the  first  to  feel  its  effects. 
The  Provincial  Estates  of  Lower  Austria  were  only  the 
phantom  of  a  deliberative  assembly  without  power  or  influ- 
ence. But  they  served  as  a  rallying  point  to  the  excited 
populace  of  Vienna,  destitute  of  organization  or  of  a  centre. 
The  Estates  were  to  convene  on  the  13th  of  March,  seven- 
teen days  after  the  fall  of  Louis  Philippe.  When  they  as- 
sembled the  whole  city  was  in  an  uproar.  Immense  crowds, 
headed  by  students,  surrounded  the  hall.  They  demanded 
that  the  Estates  should  be  their  messengers  to  the  emperor 
and  should  make  the  following  demands :  regular  publica- 
tion of  the  state  budget,  open  session  of  the  courts,  freedom 
of  the  press,  reform  in  municipal  administration,  and  a 
general  parliament  to  which  all  classes  should  be  eligible. 
The  terrified  Estates  called  the  troops  to  their  assistance. 
A  hand-to-hand  fight  raged  through  the  streets  between  the 
soldiers  and  the  people,  and  many  lives  were  lost.  The 
tumult  constantly  increased,  but  the  citizens  could  not 
reach  the  imbecile  Emperor  Ferdinand  IV,  who  was  kept 
in  concealment.  The  battle-cry  was  "  Down  with  Metter- 
nich ! "  The  veteran  statesman  was  forsaken  by  all  his  col- 
leagues. At  last  he  saw  that  resistance  was  useless.  On 
the  following  day  he  escaped  from  the  capital  in  a  laundry 
cart.  The  emperor  was  induced  by  his  attendants  to  give 
a  verbal  grant  of  all  that  the  revolutionists  demanded, 
but  Vienna  was  placed  under  martial  law.  Einally,  on 
April  25,  an  illusory  constitution  was  proclaimed.  Three 
weeks  later  the  emperor  fled  to  Innsbruck.  Nevertheless 
his  authority  seemed  at  no  time  endangered.  Metternich 
fallen,  the  people  supposed  that  everything  was  gained. 

Troubles  in  Bohemia.  —  The  Bohemians  had  acted  even 
more  quickly.  On  March  11,  at  a  public  meeting  in 
Prague,  they  drew  up  a  petition,  asking  however  little 
more  than  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  peasants 
and  a  general  system  of  public  instruction.  The  news  from 
Vienna  made  them  bolder.       The  students  formed  an  aca- 


A.D.1848.]  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENTS  3 

demic  legion.  A  few  days  later  a  second  petition  demanded 
reconstitution  of  the  Bohemian  crown,  a  Bohemian  Diet, 
a  Bohemian  ministry,  and  full  equality  between  the  Slavs 
and  the  Germans  in  the  kingdom.  A  committee  was  sent 
to  convey  these  demands  to  Vienna,  where  it  was  well  re- 
ceived; but  in  the  constitution  promulgated  on  April  25  all 
their  claims  were  ignored.  The  irritation  of  the  Czechs 
became  more  intense.  A  congress  of  all  the  Slavic  peoples 
assembled  at  Prague.  Its  chief  object  was  to  secure  recog- 
nition of  the  race  rather  than  the  rights  of  individuals. 
Against  such  recognition  the  government  and  all  the  other 
nationalities  of  the  empire  were  bitterly  opposed.  Prague 
was  captured  by  the  imperial  troops  and  martial  law 
proclaimed. 

Revolt  in  Hungary.  —  A  movement,  in  some  respects  simi- 
lar to  that  in  Prague,  was  meanwhile  in  progress  under  the 
lead  of  Kossuth  at  Pressburg  and  Pesth.  There,  however, 
the  desire  for  reforms  was  subordinate  to  the  still  stronger 
desire  for  emancipation  from  Austria.  Its  dominant  motive 
was  the  sentiment  of  awakened  Hungarian  nationality.  But 
it  in  no  way  included  antagonism  to  the  sovereign,  to  whom 
on  many  occasions  the  Magyars  have  shown  a  loyalty  sur- 
passing that  of  the  Austrians.  Nor  did  it  include  recog- 
nition of  the  just  demands  of  the  various  Slavic  and  other 
peoples  who  constituted  a  large  proportion  of  the  popula- 
tion. In  April  Ferdinand  IV  granted  whatever  was  asked, 
practically  recognizing  Hungary  as  an  autonomous  state 
with  himself  as  its  sovereign.  Count  Batthyany  was  au- 
thorized to  form  the  first  Hungarian  ministry. 

These  measures  discontented  the  Slavs,  especially  the 
Servians  and  Croatians.  The  newly  appointed  Ban  of 
Croatia,  Jellachich,  took  up  arms,  proclaiming  his  opposi- 
tion to  those  "  who  want  liberty  only  for  themselves  and 
who  wish  to  monopolize  for  the  Magyar  minority  the  treas- 
ures acquired  by  the  sweat  of  the  Slavs,  the  Germans  and 
the  Roumanians."  A  partisan  of  absolute  rule  and  appar- 
ently in  secret  alliance  with  the  emperor,  Jellachich 
marched  upon  Pesth.  Batthyany  resigned,  but  Kossuth 
was  appointed  to  organize  the  national  defence.  His  volun- 
teers defeated  the  Ban.  The  Viennese,  through  hatred  of 
the  Slavs,  showed  a  momentary  passionate  sympathy  for 
the  Hungarians.  They  rose  against  the  government  on 
October  7,  and  begged  the  assistance  of  the  Hungarians 


4  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848. 

against  Jellachich,  wlio  now  threatened  Vienna.  The  new 
allies  arrived  too  late,  for  the  capital  had  been  already- 
stormed  and  the  ringleaders  put  to  death.  Jellachich  was 
appointed  generalissimo.  Now,  in  behalf  of  the  emperor, 
he  was  about  to  turn  his  arms  against  the  Hungarians,  who 
boasted  meanwhile  that  they  were  "  faithful  to  the  sovereign 
beloved  by  Hungary."  Feeble-minded  and  exhausted,  Fer- 
dinand gladly  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  nephew,  Francis 
Joseph.  The  Magyars  refused  to  accept  this  abdication  and 
their  excessive  loyalty  gave  them  the  attitude  of  rebels. 

Commotions  in  Italy.  —  Piedmont  was  independent,  but 
Austria  dominated  almost  all  the  rest  of  Italy  by  her  arms 
or  influence.  Lombardy  and  Venice  were  subject  provinces. 
The  Milanese  rose,  and  on  March  18  they  forced  Radetzki, 
the  Austrian  commander,  to  evacuate  the  city  and  retreat 
to  Verona.  At  Venice  the  Austrians  seemed  paralyzed. 
Daniel  Manin  was  made  the  chief  of  the  provisional  govern- 
ment which  proclaimed  the  Republic  of  Saint  Mark.  The 
fire  of  insurrection  rapidly  spread.  Soon  only  a  few  for- 
tresses were  left  on  the  Mincio  and  Adige,  where  Radetzki 
was  resolved  to  hold  out  to  the  last.  Forced  by  the  clamors 
of  his  people  Charles  Albert,  king  of  Piedmont,  on  March 
26  entered  Milan  to  support  the  revolution. 

Rome  and  Florence  were  still  racked  by  the  agitations  of 
the  preceding  year.  The  news  of  the  French  Revolution 
came  like  a  wind  upon  smouldering  embers.  Pius  IX  was 
affrighted  at  the  sweep  of  principles  with  which  by  nature 
he  was  in  sympathy.  But  he  granted  the  Romans  a  consti- 
tution and  a  government  by  two  Chambers,  and  called  his 
sagacious  counsellor,  Rossi,  to  the  ministry.  The  Grand 
Duke  of  Tuscany  hesitated  but  seemed  to  incline  toward 
reform.  The  king  of  Naples,  Ferdinand  II,  endeavored  to 
temporize  with  his  subjects,  though  granting  a  constitution 
and  creating  a  united  parliament  for  Naples  and  Sicily. 
The  revolutionist  Pepe  even  persuaded  him  to  send  an 
army  of  13,000  Neapolitans  to  the  assistance  of  Charles 
Albert.  The  impetuous  Sicilians  rejected  all  overtures 
from  their  sovereign  and  declared  themselves  indepen- 
dent. 

Popular  Demands  in  Prussia  and  other  German  States. 
—  In  Baden,  WCirtemberg,  Saxony  and  western  Germany 
repressed  liberal  sentiment  at  once  found  expression.  Every- 
where there  were  demonstrations,  sometimes  tumultuous 


A.D.  1848.]  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENTS  5 

and  often  violent.  In  Bavaria  the  people  forced  Louis  I 
to  abdicate.  But  Berlin  was  the  centre  of  agitation.  There 
the  fall  of  Metternich,  the  recognized  exponent  of  the 
autocratic  system,  produced  even  more  profound  impression 
than  in  Vienna.  Excited  crowds  filled  the  streets.  In 
public  meetings  the  popular  grievances  were  incessantly 
and  earnestly  set  forth. 

Frederick  William  IV  was  slow  in  deciding  whether  to 
resist  or  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  universal  demon- 
stration. Finally,  on  March  18,  a  royal  edict  announced 
that  the  king  would  favor  the  introductiou  of  constitutional 
government  into  every  German  state  and  the  establishment 
of  a  parliament  wherein  all  Germany  should  be  represented. 
The  rejoicing  citizens  by  thousands  flocked  to  the  palace. 
Their  cheers  were  mistaken  for  an  attack  and  the  troops 
discharged  their  guns  upon  the  defenceless  masses.  At 
once  the  burghers  all  over  the  city  flew  to  arms.  Nor  was 
the  riot  suppressed  until  more  than  200  citizens  had  been 
slain  and  as  many  soldiers  killed  or  wounded  in  consequence 
of  a  terrible  blunder.  When  order  was  restored,  the  king 
by  a  dramatic  act  gained  immense  popularity.  At  the  head 
of  a  solemn  procession  he  rode  through  the  streets,  osten- 
tatiously wearing  the  gold,  white  and  black,  the  colors  he 
had  formerly  proscribed  and  which  were  the  symbols  of  the 
German  Fatherland.  He  furthermore  announced  that  he 
assumed  the  leadership  in  the  great  work  of  German  unifi- 
cation. Union  was  even  dearer  to  the  German  heart  than 
was  liberty.  But,  in  addition,  the  sovereign  promised 
radical  and  comprehensive  reforms  in  the  whole  system  of 
government  and  administration. 

The  German  National  Assembly.  —  A  few  days  later,  in 
response  to  a  general  invitation,  several  hundred  liberals 
met  at  Frankfort  to  prepare  the  draft  of  a  constitution  and 
formulate  measures  to  be  submitted  to  the  forthcoming 
National  Assembly.  They  frittered  away  their  strength  in 
political  manoeuvres  and  retarded  rather  than  strengthened 
the  triumph  of  principles  they  should  have  advanced. 
Meanwhile,  everywhere  throughout  the  German  states  the 
deputies  were  being  chosen  for  the  National  Assembly.  On 
May  18  they  held  their  first  session  in  the  newly  erected 
church  of  Saint  Paul  at  Frankfort.  That  was  the  grandest 
and  most  inspiring  political  gathering  Germany  had  ever 
beheld.     It  was  composed  of  her  most  patriotic  and  illus- 


6  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848. 

trious  sons.  Now  were  brought  together  within  the  walls 
of  a  single  edifice  all  who  had  most  contributed  to  the 
common  welfare,  and  to  them  was  confided  the  task  of 
national  regeneration.  In  its  promise  this  was  the  golden 
day  of  German  history. 


THE  SECOND  FRENCH  REPUBLIC 


n 

THE  SECOND  FRENCH  REPUBLIC 
(1848-1852) 

The  Provisional  Government.  —  It  was  installed  by  the 
mob  on  the  day  of  revolution,  and  its  title  to  authority  was 
based  upon  the  submission  with  which  for  a  time  its  orders 
were  received.  The  provinces  as  usual  acquiesced  in  the 
government  set  up  at  the  capital.  The  eloquent  orator, 
Lamartine,  was  at  the  head  as  minister  of  foreign  affairs 
and  Ledru-Rollin  was  minister  of  the  interior.  The  latter 
was  a  radical.  The  other  ministers  were  moderate  repub- 
licans. This  suddenly  improvised  government  was  without 
cohesion  or  plan.  Yet,  while  ruling  as  a  despotic  oligarchy, 
it  seemed  ardently  though  vaguely  desirous  of  doing  some- 
thing noble.  In  order  to  furnish  occupation  to  the  unem- 
ployed it  set  up  national  workshops  and  guaranteed  work 
with  pay  or  pay  without  work  to  every  citizen.  Soon  it 
had  on  its  roll  the  names  of  over  120,000  men,  one-half  of 
the  laboring  population  of  Paris.  Meanwhile  it  supplied 
bread  to  their  families  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  chil- 
dren. Private  enterprise  became  disorganized,  and  those 
evils  increased  which  the  national  workshops  were  designed 
to  cure. 

Universal  suffrage  had  been  proclaimed.  On  April  23 
elections  were  held  all  over  Prance  for  the  choice  of  depu- 
ties to  a  national  assembly.  Ten  days  later  the  Assembly 
met.  It  reaffirmed  the  Republic  and  commended  the  pro- 
visional government,  most  of  whose  members  it  reappointed 
to  office  as  an  executive  commission.  The  socialist  leaders 
of  Paris  raised  mobs  and  endeavored  to  seize  the  power, 
but  their  first  attempt  was  put  down  by  the  national  guard. 
The  national  workshops  had  become  the  greatest  menace  to 
the  state.  The  Assembly  ordered  that  all  the  younger  men 
enrolled  in  them  should  enlist  in  the  army  or  cease  to 
receive  pay. 


8  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848. 

The  Barricades.  —  Then  broke  out  a  fearful  insurrection 
at  Paris.  Barricades  were  suddenly  erected  all  over  the 
eastern  part  of  the  city  and  were  defended  with  military 
precision  by  the  rioters.  In  the  emergency  General  Cavaig- 
nac,  the  minister  of  war,  was  appointed  dictator.  The 
pitched  battle  of  the  streets  began  June  23  and  lasted  four 
days.  However  disguised  by  party  names,  it  was  a  conflict 
between  the  penniless  and  the  moneyed  classes  and  a  menace 
to  the  rights  of  property.  The  insurgents  held  their  ground 
with  savage  courage  and  were  not  subdued  until  8000  persons 
had  been  slain  and  12,000  taken  prisoners.  Among  the 
victims  were  two  deputies,  seven  generals,  and  the  vener- 
able archbishop  of  Paris,  Monseigneur  Affre.  Horrified 
at  the  fratricidal  slaughter  he  had  climbed  a  barricade,  where 
the  fighting  was  hottest,  and  was  shot  down  while  implor- 
ing the  combatants  to  throw  away  their  arms. 

General  Discontent.  —  The  frightful  victory  left  the  gov- 
ernment not  the  less  humiliated  and  weakened.  Appre- 
hension and  discontent  pervaded  all  classes,  not  only  at 
Paris  but  throughout  France.  The  masses  were  sullen 
because  none  of  the  socialistic  Utopias,  prophesied  so  often 
of  late,  had  been  realized.  The  well-to-do  classes  were 
panic-stricken  at  the  peril  property  had  just  undergone  and 
at  future  perils  in  store.  The  state  revenues  diminished, 
therefore  taxation  increased.  But  commerce  and  manufact- 
ures were  paralyzed  in  the  absence  of  confidence,  and  it 
was  more  difficult  to  pay. 

The  Assembly  hastily  laid  the  foundations  of  a  new  con- 
stitution. It  confided  the  executive  power  to  a  president, 
elected  for  three  years  by  universal  suffrage  and  responsi- 
ble only  to  the  people.  It  confided  the  legislative  power  to 
a  single  chamber,  elected  to  hold  office  for  four  years.  In 
the  president  was  vested  all  power  of  appointment  in  the 
various  branches  of  administration.  He  was  to  negotiate 
treaties  and  exercise  an  indefinite  control  of  the  army,  but 
he  could  not  take  command  of  the  troops  or  dissolve  the 
Assembly  or  veto  a  measure  which  he  disapproved.  His 
power  was  either  too  little  or  too  great.  While  declared 
ineligible  for  a  second  term  of  office,  it  would  not  be  difficult 
with  the  means  at  his  disposal  to  regain  or  retain  the 
presidential  authority  were  he  so  disposed. 

The  two  chief  candidates  for  the  presidency  were  General 
Cavaignac  and  Prince  Louis  Napoleon.     The  former  was  a 


A.D.  184&-1851.]      THE  SECOND  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  9 

consistent  republican,  a  soldier  rather  than  a  statesman, 
and  the  conqueror  of  the  barricades.  But  the  victory,  won 
in  the  blood  of  Frenchmen,  rendered  him  unpopular  even 
■with  his  own  party.  The  latter  was  the  nephew  and  heir 
of  Napoleon.  All  his  life  an  exile  from  France,  he  had 
returned  on  the  fall  of  Louis  Philippe,  but  when  the  pro- 
visional government  requested  him  to  leave  the  country,  lie 
had  complied.  In  June,  elected  to  the  Assembly  in  four 
different  departments,  he  had  resigned,  though  reserving 
his  liberty  of  action.  Elected  in  September  by  five  depart- 
ments, he  no  longer  withdrew,  but  took  his  seat.  The 
romance  of  his  personal  history,  his  manifest  calmness  and 
self-control,  and  above  all,  the  magic  of  the  great  name  he 
bore,  made  him  a  formidable  candidate.  His  electoral  ad- 
dress to  the  nation  was  a  model  of  tact  and  shrewdness. 
He  received  5,434,226  votes,  while  General  Cavaignac  could 
secure  only  1,448,107. 

Presidency  of  Louis  Napoleon.  —  His  first  year  in  office 
was  marked  only  by  the  expedition  to  Rome,  the  election 
of  a  new  Assembly,  and  a  presidential  message,  memorable 
for  its  energetic  and  even  aggressive  tone.  The  second  year 
the  inevitable  divergence  between  the  chief  magistrate  and 
the  legislative  body  became  more  marked.  The  Assembly 
was  composed  of  nearly  equal  groups  of  Legitimists,  Orlean- 
ists,  and  Republicans.  The  two  former  regarded  the  actual 
government  as  a  makeshift  or  usurpation,  which  was  to  give 
way  eventually  to  the  coronation  of  the  Bourbon,  Henry, 
Count  of  Chambord,  or  of  Louis  Philippe,  Count  of  Paris, 
grandson  of  the  deposed  king.  All  their  energies  were 
devoted  to  that  end. 

Public  opinion  overwhelmingly  demanded  revision  of 
that  clause  of  the  constitution  which  declared  a  president 
ineligible  to  reelection.  Less  than  two-thirds  of  the  Assem- 
bly voted  for  revision,  but  it  could  be  carried  only  by  a  vote 
of  three-fourths.  In  May  a  decree  had  been  passed  which 
deprived  over  3,000,000  Frenchmen  of  the  right  of  suffrage. 
It  was  a  fair  charge  that  the  Assembly  had  destroyed  uni- 
versal suffrage  and,  by  refusing  to  revise  the  constitution, 
had  denied  the  people  the  exercise  of  choice.  The  third 
year  was  spent  in  irritating  discussions  and  political  ma- 
noeuvring on  both  sides.  On  November  4,  1851,  the  presi- 
dent demanded  the  repeal  of  the  law  which  restricted  the 
suffrage.     The  Bill  of  Repeal  was  defeated  by  seven  votes. 


10  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1851. 

Between  president  and  Assembly  it  was  henceforth  a  ques- 
tion which  should  first  be  able  to  overthrow  the  other. 

The  Coup  d'Etat  (December  2,  1851).— The  Assembly 
was  at  the  disadvantage  of  being  a  many-headed,  many- 
minded  body.  Louis  Napoleon  could  take  his  measures 
with  the  effectiveness  of  profound  secrecy.  On  the  evening 
of  December  1  he  held  the  customary  thronged  reception  at 
the  Palace  of  the  Elysee.  Nothing  in  his  bearing  betrayed 
preoccupation  or  excitement.  At  the  usual  hour  he  with- 
drew and  closeted  himself  with  his  half-brother,  De  Morny, 
the  minister  of  war,  St.  Arnaud,  and  the  prefect  of  tlae 
police,  De  Maupas.  They  alone  were  acquainted  with  his 
plans  and  upon  them  depended  their  execution.  Before 
daybreak  every  formidable  opponent  of  the  president  had 
been  arrested,  the  principal  quarters  of  Paris  occupied  by 
guards,  and  despatches  sent  out  to  the  40,000  communes  of 
France  announcing  what  had  been  done.  Innumerable 
manifestoes,  everywhere  attached  to  the  walls,  proclaimed 
that  the  president  on  his  own  responsibility  had  dissolved 
the  Assembly,  restored  universal  suffrage,  and  appealed  to 
the  people  to  express  its  verdict  on  his  acts  in  a  plebiscite 
to  be  held  within  two  weeks.  He  proposed  a  new  constitu- 
tion which  provided  for  a  senate,  council  of  state,  and  leg- 
islative chamber,  and  which  lengthened  the  presidential 
term  to  ten  years.  A  glowing  proclamation  was  also 
addressed  to  the  army. 

A  portion  of  the  Assembly  on  the  next  day  endeavored  to 
hold  a  session,  but  the  deputies  were  arrested.  Disturb- 
ances broke  out  in  various  parts  of  the  capital  and  in  the 
provinces,  but  were  quickly  suppressed.  Sixty-six  radical 
deputies  were  exiled  as  well  as  a  number  of  monarchists. 
But  Paris,  as  well  as  France  in  general,  received  the  news 
of  the  coup  d'etat  with  indifference  or  satisfaction. 


TRIUMPH  OF  EE ACTION  IN  EUROPE  ±1 


III 

TRIUMPH  OP  REACTION   IN  EUROPE 

Snbjugation  of  Hungary.  —  The  real  ruler  of  Austria  in 
December,  1848,  was  Prince  Schwartzenberg,  the  head  of  the 
ministry.  His  political  principles  differed  little  from  those 
of  Metternich.  He  proposed  to  tolerate  no  reforms  save 
such  as  should  be  extorted  and  to  reduce  all  other  ambitions 
in  the  empire  to  complete  subjection  to  the  Austrian  Ger- 
mans. Austria  in  its  medley  of  races  and  of  debris  of  other 
states  is  the  most  heterogeneous  power  in  Europe.  By  a 
playing  off  of  race  against  race  and  utilizing  each  to  over- 
throw some  other,  Schwartzenberg  proposed  to  attain  his 
ends. 

The  Hungarians  regarded  the  new  emperor  as  a  usurper, 
and  hence  must  be  reduced  to  subjection.  Though  fighting 
to  preserve  Magyar  independence  of  Austria  and  to  main- 
tain the  concessions  granted  them  by  Ferdinand,  they  treated 
their  subjects  in  their  Transylvanian  and  Slavic  provinces 
as  oppressively  as  the  Austrians  had  treated  them.  The 
Austrian  general,  Puchner,  subdued  Transylvania.  Win- 
dischgratz,  with  the  main  army,  invaded  western  Hungary 
and  captured  Pesth.  Dissensions  speedily  broke  out 
between  the  orator  Kossuth,  the  head  of  the  committee  of 
defence,  and  General  Gorgei,  commander  of  the  army. 
Kossuth  removed  Gorgei  and  appointed  a  Pole,  the  incapa- 
ble Dembinski,  to  the  chief  command.  The  Austrians 
won  a  series  of  successes,  but  Schwartzenberg  alienated  the 
Slavs,  who  offered  to  unite  with  their  hereditary  foes,  but 
the  Hungarians  rejected  their  overtures.  Gorgei  was  re- 
stored to  his  command  and  he  and  Bem  swept  the  invaders 
from  the  country,  leaving  only  a  few  fortresses  in  their 
hands.  The  Hungarian  Diet  declared  that  the  house  of 
Hapsburg  had  forfeited  its  rights  to  the  throne  and  that 
Hungary  was  henceforth  an  independent  state.  Austria 
had  been  thoroughly  defeated.  The  only  resource  left  her 
was  to  entreat  the  willing  intervention  of  the  Tsar. 

Eighty  thousand  Eussians  entered  from  the  north  while 


12  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848-1849. 

equally  overwhelming  forces  marclied  from  the  south  and 
east.  The  Hungarians,  though  constantly  defeated,  fought 
heroically  against  hopeless  odds.  General  Klapka  made  a 
magnificent  defence  at  Komorn.  The  last  battle  was  fought 
at  Temesvar  on  August  10,  1849.  Three  days  later  Gorgei, 
to  whom  Kossuth  had  resigned  the  dictatorship,  surrendered 
with  all  his  forces  to  the  Russians  at  Villages. 

Exasperated  by  the  consciousness  that  they  had  been 
rescued  from  defeat  only  by  the  intervention  of  Russia,  the 
Austrians  inflicted  terrible  atrocities  upon  the  vanquished. 
Bern,  Kossuth  and  other  leaders  with  about  5000  Hunga- 
rians escaped  to  Turkey,  where  they  found  generous  protec- 
tion. The  Sultan,  although  threatened  with  war  by  Russia 
and  Austria,  refused  to  surrender  the  refugees.  Hungary 
was  crushed.  Its  political  existence,  for  a  time  at  least, 
seemed  annihilated. 

Return  to  Absolutism  in  Austria.  —  A  Constitutional  As- 
sembly had  met  on  July  22,  1848.  In  the  polyglot  body 
eight  nationalities  were  represented.  It  was  a  burning 
question  as  to  which  language  should  be  declared  official. 
The  deputies  sat  like  enemies  in  as  many  hostile  groups. 
Every  theory  found  fierce  expression.  Order  and  even 
decency  of  debate  were  impossible.  Nevertheless  at  their 
request  the  emperor  returned  to  the  capital.  In  a  street 
riot  Latour,  the  minister  of  war,  was  stripped  naked  and 
hanged  to  a  lamp-post.  The  timorous  emperor  fled  to 
Olmiitz,  thinking  he  would  find  his  most  trusty  protectors 
among  the  Slavs.  But  he  left  a  manifesto  behind,  wherein 
he  declared  that  he  would  take  such  measures  as  he  thought 
best  to  repress  anarchy  and  preserve  liberty.  An  imperial 
rescript  suspended  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly,  although 
authorizing  them  to  meet  some  weeks  later  at  the  Moravian 
town  of  Kremsier.  Only  a  meagre  fraction  availed  them- 
selves of  the  permission.  Meanwhile  Schwartzenberg  was 
appointed  to  the  Cabinet,  inasmuch  as  he  knew  "  how  to  put 
down  revolutions."  Yet  the  ministry  made  a  general 
declaration  in  favor  of  constitutional  liberty.  Their  most 
difficult  task  was  to  find  an  equilibrium  between  the  various 
Austrian  states  and  to  regulate  the  relations  of  the  whole 
with  Germany,  of  which  the  Austrian  Empire  constituted 
a  part.  Yet  by  March  4,  1849,  an  anomalous  and  imprac- 
ticable constitution  had  been  devised.  In  the  universal  dis- 
content it  was  never  put  into  execution.    So  Schwartzenberg 


A.D.  1^8-1852.]      TRIUMPH  OF  REACTION  IN  EUROPE  13 

could  well  declare  that  it  was  only  "  a  basis  on  which  to 
reestablish  the  authority  of  the  throne."  On  January  1, 
1852,  this  figment  of  a  charter  was  definitely  suppressed. 
Nothing  had  been  gained  except  a  slight  improvement  in 
the  condition  of  the  peasants. 

Defeat  and  Abdication  of  Charles  Albert.  —  The  king  of 
Piedmont  had  staked  his  crown  upon  the  issue  of  war.  He 
dreamed  of  a  reunited  Italy  under  the  leadership  of  his 
house.  But  provincial  jealousies  chilled  enthusiasm  and 
hampered  unity  of  action.  Each  insurgent  state  concerned 
itself  with  its  own  interests  and  failed  to  realize  that  vic- 
tory was  possible  only  through  concerted  effort.  The  king 
was  a  royalist,  suspicious  of  republicanism  and  of  any 
popular  movement.  He  even  disdained  the  volunteers  who 
were  ready  to  flock  to  his  standard.  Nevertheless  many 
of  those  volunteer  bands  were  to  show  surprising  military 
qualities  when  pitted  against  the  veterans  of  the  enemy. 
Radetzki  was  one  of  the  few  able  generals  whom  Austria 
has  produced.  Though  over  eighty  years  of  age,  he  was 
a  most  formidable  antagonist. 

On  June  24,  1848,  a  day  of  intense  heat,  the  decisive 
battle  was  fought  at  Custozza.  The  defeated  Piedmontese 
withdrew  to  Milan  where  bitter  quarrels  broke  out  between 
them  and  the  Milanese.  The  king  surrendered  the  city  and 
afterwards  signed  an  armistice,  agreeing  to  take  no  farther 
part  in  the  war.  He  had  hitherto  refused  the  conditional 
assistance  of  the  French.  Now,  when  he  implored  it  with- 
out conditions,  it  was  too  late. 

Custozza  had  really  decided  the  fate  of  Italy.  Her  chief 
soldier  withdrawn  from  the  conflict,  the  submission  of  the 
peninsula  to  the  old  system  was  henceforth  only  a  question 
of  time.  But  the  patriots  held  out  with  surprising  tenacity 
and  with  even  increasing  vigor.  Both  at  Florence  and 
Rome  democratic  republics  were  proclaimed  and  consti- 
tutional assemblies  convoked.  A  new  wave  of  resolution 
swept  over  the  land.  But  the  political  question  had 
become  complicated  with  the  ecclesiastical  question.  Car- 
dinal Antonelli  asked  for  the  interference  of  the  four 
Catholic  Powers,  Austria,  France,  Spain  and  Naples,  in 
behalf  of  the  Pope.  Austria  was  ready  to  act,  but  Louis 
Napoleon  despatched  7000  men  to  Rome,  though  the  object 
of  the  expedition  was  not  at  first  clear.  Ferdinand  of 
JTaples  had  reduced  Sicily  and  was  trampling  on  his  prom- 


14  CONTEMPORABY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1848-1849. 

ises  of  reform.  Bombardment  of  his  Sicilian  cities  had 
given  him  the  nickname  of  "King  Bomba,"  which  the  sub- 
sequent atrocities  of  his  reign  were  to  render  odious. 

In  Piedmont  the  vociferous  populace  and  the  parliament 
demanded  that  Charles  Albert  should  again  attack  Austria, 
inasmuch  as  she  was  apparently  the  only  foreign  state 
which  the  Italian  cause  had  to  dread.  The  king  yielded. 
But  he  counted  on  no  assistance  from  Rome  or  Florence  and 
he  knew  that  his  own  army  was  disinclined  to  the  war. 
He  entered  upon  the  campaign  rather  as  a  martyr  than  as  a 
soldier.  It  was,  and  it  could  be,  only  disastrous.  Despite 
the  heroism  of  his  troops,  he  met  a  crushing  defeat  at 
Novara.  On  the  evening  after  the  battle  the  unhappy 
sovereign  abdicated  the  throne  in  favor  of  his  son,  Victor 
Emmanuel. 

The  heart  of  revolution  was  now  at  Rome.  Mazzini,  like 
a  modern  Rienzi,  and  the  impetuous  Garibaldi  inflamed  the 
resolution  of  the  people  not  to  submit.  But  it  was  the 
French  under  General  Oudinot  and  not  the  Austrians  who 
attacked  and  then  invested  the  city.  After  a  siege,  lasting 
twenty-nine  days,  despite  prodigies  of  valor  on  the  part  of 
the  besieged,  the  capital  was  taken  and  the  Roman  repub- 
lic overthrown  by  the  soldiers  of  republican  France  (June 
29,  1849). 

The  catastrophe  of  Novara  and  the  fall  of  Rome  could  not 
shake  the  courage  of  Venice.  Nowhere  was  the  Austrian 
rule  more  abhorred,  yet  nowhere  were  fewer  crimes  and 
excesses  committed  in  the  effort  to  shake  it  off.  Her  re- 
sistance lasted  seventeen  months.  During  146  days  she 
experienced  all  the  horrors  of  siege  and  bombardment.  She 
succumbed  only  to  the  exhaustion  caused  by  famine  and 
cholera.  To  Venice  and  to  her  illustrious  dictator,  Manin, 
attaches  purer  glory  than  to  any  other  Italian  state  or 
leader  in  the  agony  of  the  struggle.  On  August  28,  1849, 
the  triumphant  Austrian  flag  floated  once  more  over  the 
Piazza  of  Saint  Mark.  And  the  former  rulers  and  the  old 
ways  were  restored  throughout  Italy. 

Conservatism  of  Pius  IX.  —  On  his  accession  he  had 
shown  sympathy  with  constitutional  liberty.  But  he 
dreaded  the  excesses  of  the  democracy.  Desirous  of  re- 
form, he  wished  it  to  come  gently  and  gradually.  The 
frenzied  passion  of  Mazzini  appalled  him  even  more  than 
did  the  iron  rule  of  Radetzki.     Though  a  temporal  prince. 


A.D.  184&-1850.]      TRIUMPH  OF  REACTION  IN  EUROPE  15 

he  shrank  from  military  action  because  head  of  the  church. 
So  he  refused  to  yield  to  popular  clamor  and  declare  war 
against  Austria.  But  in  September,  1848,  he  called  Count 
Kossi  to  preside  over  the  papal  Cabinet,  and  thus  indicated 
his  fixed  purpose  to  pursue  a  policy  of  moderate  liberalism. 

There  was  at  that  time  safety  for  no  man  in  Rome  unless 
an  extremist.  Two  months  later  the  capable  and  patriotic 
minister  was  stabbed  by  an  anarchist  on  the  very  day  when 
he  was  to  open  the  session  of  the  Chambers  with  a  speech, 
promising  to  abolish  the  rule  of  the  cardinals,  to  institute  a 
lay  government  and  to  insist  upon  the  emancipation  and 
unification  of  Italy.  A  radical  mob  attacked  the  papal 
palace.  The  Pope  in  disguise  escaped  to  Gaeta.  When 
the  Roman  republic  was  proclaimed  his  temporal  power  was 
abolished.  Not  till  1850  did  he  return  to  his  capital.  No 
longer  did  he  manifest  any  inclination  toward  reform.  No 
triumph  of  reaction  anywhere  was  more  to  be  deplored  than 
that  which  it  had  gained  over  the  mind  of  the  sovereign 
pontiff. 

Dissolution  of  the  General  Assembly  at  Frankfort.  — 
Despite  the  patriotism  and  learning  of  its  members,  it  is  a 
melancholy  fact  that  the  Assembly  was  doomed  to  failure 
from  the  start.  It  had  been  elected  to  draw  up  a  constitu- 
tion for  all  Germany,  but  the  degree  of  its  authority  was 
a  disputed  point  and  it  possessed  no  means  of  enforcing  its 
decrees.  It  could  only  discuss  and  recommend.  There  was 
not  in  Germany  a  race  problem  as  in  Austria,  and  on  the 
part  of  the  German  peoples  there  was  a  common  desire  for 
union.  But  the  country  was  still  too  torn  by  violent  and 
determined  factions  and  too  distracted  by  the  selfish  aims 
of  the  different  states  to  secure  common  and  voluntary  ac- 
ceptance of  the  salutary  measures  which  might  be  proposed. 
Furthermore  the  deputies  were  not  practical  men  but  theo- 
rists without  tact  or  political  experience. 

For  a  time  however  its  measures  commanded  respect. 
Thus,  when  it  decided  to  replace  the  Diet  by  a  central 
executive  and  elected  Archduke  John  of  Austria  as  admin- 
istrator of  Germany,  the  archduke  accepted  the  office  and 
the  Diet  resigned  its  authority  into  his  hands.  But  when 
the  troops  of  the  confederation  were  ordered  to  swear  fidelity 
to  this  administrator,  Austria  and  Prussia  ignored  the  order, 
and  it  was  obeyed  only  in  the  smaller  states.  Fickleness  in 
dealing  with  the  troubles  in  Schleswig-Holstein  weakened 


16  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1849. 

its  influence.  Days  were  wasted  in  sterile  debates  on  trivial 
matters. 

At  the  same  time,  at  Berlin,  the  Prussian  national 
Assembly  was  holding  stormy  and  fruitless  sessions  and  the 
city  itself  was  for  months  in  a  condition  little  better  than 
anarchy.  Tired  of  oratory  and  street  turmoil,  the  Prus- 
sians were  not  displeased  when  royal  decrees  placed  their 
capital  under  martial  law  and  dissolved  their  Assembly. 
This  failure  of  the  Prussian  Assembly  at  Berlin  had  an 
injurious  eifect  upon  the  General  Assembly  at  Frankfort. 

Nevertheless,  it  patched  together  a  constitution  for  the 
whole  empire  and  elected  as  emperor  Frederick  William 
IV  the  king  of  Prussia.  The  constitution  was  at  once 
rejected  by  Austria,  Bavaria,  Saxony  and  Hanover,  and 
Frederick  William  in  a  guarded  manner  declined  the  crown. 
The  Assembly  daily  dwindled  away  until  less  than  a  hun- 
dred delegates  remained.  It  was  removed  to  Stuttgart  on 
May  30,  1849,  and  was  finally  dispersed  by  the  police. 
Nothing  had  been  gained.  All  things  continued  as  they 
were  before. 


THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMFIKE  17 


IV 

THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMPIRE 

The  Plebiscites  of  1851  and  1852.  —A  French  plebiscite 
is  an  expression  by  universal  suffrage  wherein  only  "  yes  " 
or  "  no  "  is  answered  to  a  question  submitted  for  decision. 
The  constitution  proposed  December,  1851,  was  accepted 
and  the  presidential  power  for  ten  years  conferred  on  Louis 
Napoleon  by  a  plebiscite  of  7,437,216  "yes"  and  640,737 
"no." 

The  decennial  presidency  heralded  the  empire.  A  year 
afterwards  the  Senate  asked  for  a  plebiscite  on  the  propo- 
sition that  the  empire  should  be  restored  in  the  person  of 
Louis  Napoleon  and  of  his  descendants.  The  affirmative 
vote  was  8,157,752,  the  negative  254,501.  So  the  empire 
was  solemnly  proclaimed  on  December  2,  1852,  the  anni- 
versary of  the  coronation  of  the  first  Napoleon.  The 
crowned  president  was  speedily  recognized  as  Napoleon 
III  by  all  the  courts  of  Europe.  In  the  following  January 
he  married  a  Spanish  lady  of  Scottish  ancestry,  Eugenie  de 
Montijo,  Countess  of  Teba. 

Worn  out  by  the  turmoils  of  the  preceding  years,  indig- 
nant at  the  secondary  role  she  had  filled  in  Europe  since 
1815,  France  desired  a  strong  government  which  would 
ensure  tranquillity  at  home,  and  hence  restore  credit  and 
develop  material  prosperity  while  at  the  same  time  making 
her  respected  abroad.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  vast 
majority  of  the  people  were  content  to  leave  in  the  hands 
of  the  new  "  emperor  of  the  French  "  a  power  hardly  in- 
ferior to  that  exercised  by  a  sultan  or  shah.  The  constitu- 
tion centralized  all  authority  in  the  person  of  its  elected 
chief.  He  alone  could  command  the  army,  direct  public 
policy,  decide  upon  war,  and  conclude  peace.  The  min- 
isters, appointed  by  him,  were  responsible  only  to  him. 
They  were  rather  his  secretaries  or  functionaries  than  a 
cabinet.  The  legislative  body,  elected  for  six  years,  voted 
upon  the  taxes  and  the  laws  submitted  to  it  by  the  Council 


18  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1853-1856. 

of  State,  but  could  of  its  own  initiative  propose  nothing. 
The  Senate  consisted  of  150  members,  who  were  appointed 
for  life  by  the  emperor.  It  revised  the  laws  voted  by  the 
legislative  body  and  could  accept  or  reject  them  as  it 
deemed  best.  The  Council  of  State  was  likewise  named  by 
the  sovereign. 

The  Crimean  War  (1853-1856).  — A  famous  apothegm  of 
Napoleon  III,  "The  empire  is  peace,"  was  to  be  refuted  by 
events  in  Eastern  Europe.  Since  the  days  of  Francis  I  and 
Souleiman  the  Magnificent,  France  had  been  the  traditional 
ally  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Sometimes,  as  under  Napo- 
leon I,  such  relations  had  been  interrupted,  but  the  senti- 
ment none  the  less  existed.  Furthermore,  France  was 
recognized  by  the  Ottomans  as  the  protectress  of  Latin 
Christians  in  the  East.  So,  when  troubles  broke  out  in 
1853  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  —  nominally  over  a  monk- 
ish question  as  to  the  guardianship  of  certain  holy  places 
in  Jerusalem  and  as  to  the  claim  of  the  Tsar  to  exercise 
protection  over  the  Orthodox  Greek  subjects  of  the  Sultan, 
—  Napoleon  found  a  felicitous  occasion  to  draw  the  sword. 

Great  Britain  was  above  all  other  states  interested  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  The  sovereign  of 
the  French,  though  officially  recognized,  was  everywhere 
regarded  as  an  imperial  parvenu.  An  alliance  between 
him  and  Queen  Victoria,  granddaughter  of  George  III,  — 
the  only  sovereign  in  Europe  who  had  persistently  refused 
to  acknowledge  Napoleon  I  as  emperor,  —  would  dazzle  the 
French  and  add  a  peculiar  splendor  to  his  crown.  His 
overtures  were  well  received.  When  the  Ottoman  fleet  in 
the  bay  of  Sinope  was  destroyed  by  the  Russians  (Novem- 
ber 30,  1853),  the  French  and  British  squadrons  entered 
the  Black  Sea.  A  few  months  later,  France  and  Great 
Britain  signed  a  treaty  with  Turkey  and  formed  an  offen- 
sive and  defensive  alliance  with  each  other. 

Prussia  though  inactive  sympathized  with  Russia. 
Austria  hesitated,  remembering  that  her  endangered  polit- 
ical existence  had  been  preserved  by  Russia  in  1849,  and 
yet  not  unwilling  that  the  overshadowing  Muscovite  Em- 
pire should  receive  a  check.  Without  allying  herself  with 
the  Western  Powers,  she  demanded  that  the  Russians 
should  evacuate  the  Danubian  principalities  which  they 
had  occupied. 

Cronstadt  in  the  Baltic  was  the  key  of  St.  Petersburg. 


A.D.  1853-1856.]       THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMPIRE  19 

Failing  in  attack  upon  this  fortress,  which  the  British 
admiral  in  command,  Sir  Charles  Napier,  declared  was  im- 
pregnable, the  allies  resolved  to  concentrate  their  efforts  in 
an  invasion  of  Russia  from  the  south.  Odessa  had  been 
successfully  bombarded  in  April. 

A  French  army  under  Marshal  St.  Arnaud  and  an  Eng- 
lish army  under  Lord  Raglan  landed  at  Gallipoli  on  the 
Dardanelles.  The  Russians,  who  were  furthermore  threat- 
ened on  the  west  by  the  Austrians,  evacuated  the  princi- 
palities and  recrossed  the  Pruth.  Austria  at  once  occupied 
the  abandoned  provinces,  promising  to  restore  them  to  the 
Sultan  on  the  conclusion  of  peace. 

It  was  decided  to  attack  Sebastopol,  the  great  arsenal  of 
Russia  in  the  Crimea  and  the  military  centre  from  which 
she  threatened  the  south.  The  city  was  at  that  time  utterly 
unprepared  to  withstand  a  siege.  On  September  24  a 
fleet  of  500  ships  disembarked  30,000  French,  27,000  Brit- 
ish, and  7000  Turks  at  Eupatoria,  thirty  miles  to  the  north. 

The  operations  against  the  beleaguered  city  went  on 
under  various  forms  for  351  days.  The  Russian  generals, 
Mentshikoff,  Todleben  and  Korniloff,  strengthened  the 
defences  and  resisted  with  Russian  obstinacy.  The  battles 
of  Alma,  Balaclava  and  Inkerman  were  favorable  on  the 
whole  to  the  allies.  Meanwhile  St.  Arnaud  died  and  was 
succeeded  by  Marshal  Canrobert,  who,  exhausted,  gave  way 
to  General  Pelissier.  Lord  Raglan  died  and  was  replaced 
by  General  James  Simpson.  The  soldiers,  especially  the 
British,  suffered  horribly  in  a  winter  of  unusual  vigor.  In 
a  single  storm  twenty-one  transports  were  wrecked.  Pied- 
mont, glad  to  make  its  existence  remembered,  sent  to  the 
assistance  of  the  allies  a  little  army  of  18,000  well-equipped 
men.  Together  with  the  French  they  won  the  battle  of 
Tchernaya  (August  16),  the  decisive  action  of  the  campaign. 
By  September  8  everything  was  ready  for  the  final  assault. 
The  two  chief  defences  of  the  city  were  the  Malakoff  and 
the  Great  Redan.  The  French  successfully  stormed  the 
former,  but  the  British,  despite  their  desperate  courage, 
were  unable  to  capture  the  latter.  However,  the  Malakoff 
taken,  further  resistance  was  useless,  and  the  Russian  army 
withdrew. 

In  Asia  the  Russian  arms  had  been  successful  and  they 
had  captured  the  stronghold  of  Kars,  which  commanded  the 
eastern  approaches  to  Asia  Minor. 


20  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  185&-1859. 

Sebastopol  was  in  the  hands  of  the  conquerors.  To  make 
themselves  masters  of  it,  the  allies  had  sacrificed  the  lives 
of  more  than  100,000  of  their  troops.  Russia's  losses  were 
even  greater.  Nevertheless  the  utmost  efforts  of  four 
Powers,  assisted  by  the  military  interference  of  Austria, 
had  only  sufficed  to  reduce  a  fortress  on  the  extreme 
southern  verge  of  her  empire.  Her  frontier  had  been 
touched  but  she  had  not  been  really  invaded.  The  Tsar 
Nicholas  I  had  died  on  March  2,  1855,  and  been  succeeded 
by  the  milder  and  less  persistent  Alexander  II. 

The  treaty  was  signed  at  Paris  on  March  30,  1856.  It 
neutralized  the  Black  Sea,  guaranteed  liberty  of  navigation 
in  the  Danube,  from  which  it  removed  Russia  by  a  slight 
rectification  of  her  western  frontier,  and  abolished  the 
protectorate  of  Russia  over  the  Danubian  provinces  and 
over  her  coreligionists  in  Turkey.  Turkey  was  admitted 
to  the  international  concert  of  states,  and  the  Hatti  Sherif 
of  the  Sultan,  promising  religious  privileges  to  his  non- 
Mussulman  subjects,  was  incorporated  in  the  treaty  as  a 
contract  between  him  and  Europe. 

However  gravely  accepted  and  proclaimed,  most  of  these 
conditions  could  be  regarded  only  in  the  light  of  temporary 
accommodation.  The  really  important  achievement  of  the 
congress  was  its  enunciation  of  the  four  following  princi- 
ples in  international  law:  privateering  is  abolished;  the 
neutral  flag  covers  an  enemy's  goods,  except  contraband  of 
war;  neutral  goods,  except  contraband  of  war,  are  exempt 
from  capture  even  under  an  enemy's  flag;  a  blockade  to  be 
respected  must  be  effectual. 

It  was  a  splendid  triumph  for  the  French  emperor  and 
for  France  when  the  congress  assembled  at  Paris  to  deter- 
mine the  conditions  of  peace.  In  the  eyes  of  his  people 
Napoleon  III  appeared  to  be  the  arbiter  of  the  continent. 
The  distant  campaign  had  been  attended  with  frightful 
loss  in  money  and  men,  but  it  was  forgotten  in  such  glory 
as  had  not  attended  the  French  arms  since  the  first  Napo- 
leon invaded  Russia. 

War  with  Austria  (1859). — Piedmont,  the  only  inde- 
pendent and  constitutional  Italian  state,  had  won  the 
gratitude  of  France  and  of  Great  Britain  by  her  coopera- 
tion in  the  Crimean  War.  Her  prime  minister.  Count 
Cavour,  had  taken  part  in  the  Congress  of  Paris  and  had 
dexterously  improved  the  occasion  to  denounce  the  mis- 


A.D.  1859.]  THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMPIRE  21 

government  of  central  and  southern  Italy  and  to  arraign 
the  Austrian  occupation  of  Lombardy  and  Venice.  Thereby 
he  thrust  the  Italian  question  to  the  forefront  of  Europe. 
In  1858  he  made  a  secret  treaty  with  Napoleon,  the  object 
of  which  was  the  expulsion  of  Austria  from  the  peninsula, 
and  in  January,  1859,  cemented  the  relations  of  France  and 
Piedmont  by  the  marriage  of  Prince  Napoleon,  cousin  of 
the  emperor,  to  the  Princess  Clotilda,  daughter  of  Victor 
Emmanuel. 

While  all  Europe  was  considering  a  proposition  from 
the  British  court  for  general  disarmament,  Austria  com- 
mitted a  political  blunder  disastrous  to  herself.  She 
addressed  a  note  to  the  Piedmontese  court,  demanding  the 
disarmament  of  their  troops  in  the  space  of  three  days. 
Cavour  gave  a  diplomatic  reply,  though  gross  provocation 
had  come  from  Austria.  Six  days'  later  she  crossed  the 
Ticino,  this  act  being  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war 
against  not  only  Piedmont  but  France.  Napoleon  wished 
to  win  for  himself  some  of  the  military  laurels  his  generals 
had  gained  in  the  Crimea,  and  took  command  in  person. 
In  his  progress  southward  through  France  he  was  hailed 
with  tremendous  enthusiasm  by  the  citizens,  who  rejoiced 
that  their  armies  were  again  to  fight  the  battles  of  Italian 
liberty. 

The  campaign  was  short  but  eventful.  A  main  factor  in 
determining  the  result  was  the  proverbial  slowness  and  in- 
decision of  the  Austrian  generals.  General  Forey  with 
inferior  forces  defeated  the  enemy  at  Montebello  (May 
20).  Marshal  MacMahon  gained  a  battle  at  Magenta 
(June  2),  where  the  Austrians  lost  20,000  killed  and 
wounded  and  7000  prisoners.  The  victors  entered  Milan 
amid  a  delirium  of  joy.  Abandoning  Lombardy,  the  Aus- 
trians concentrated  160,000  troops  for  a  decisive  action  at 
Solferino.  The  French  and  Piedmontese  forces  were  almost 
as  numerous.  The  two  emperors  were  in  command.  After 
a  ten  hours'  battle  the  Austrians  were  compelled  to  retreat, 
leaving  30,000  men  upon  the  field  (June  24).  Napoleon 
slept  that  night  in  the  chamber  which  his  imperial  antago- 
nist had  occupied  in  the  morning. 

Napoleon  had  declared  that  he  would  free  Italy  from  the 
Alps  to  the  Adriatic.  But  his  position  was  one  of  extreme 
peril.  The  famous  quadrilateral  was  still  held  by  the 
enemy.      Numerous  reenforcemeuts  were  pouring  into  the 


22  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1852-1867. 

Austrian  camp.  Prussia  and  the  southwestern  German 
states,  dismayed  at  the  progress  of  revolutionary  ideas  and 
unwilling  to  see  France  too  victorious,  showed  a  disposition 
to  take  part  in  the  war.  A  proposition  for  an  interview 
was  made  to  Francis  Joseph,  and  at  Villafranca  the  two 
sovereigns  signed  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  afterwards 
confirmed  by  the  treaty  of  Zurich.  Lombardy  was  annexed 
to  Piedmont.  The  sovereigns  of  Tuscany  and  Modena  were 
to  return  to  their  states,  but  no  foreign  armies  were  to  aid 
them  in  securing  repossession.  An  Italian  federation  was 
to  be  formed  under  the  presidency  of  the  Pope.  Piedmont 
skilfully  kept  herself  free  from  entangling  promises  as  to 
the  future  of  Italy.  Savoy  and  Nice,  after  a  plebiscite  of 
their  inhabitants  expressing  the  desire  therefor,  were 
annexed  to  France. 

Material  Progress  (1852-1867).  —  These  years  are  marked 
by  brilliant  prosperity.  Under  a  strong  and  presumably 
stable  government  the  people  were  no  longer  disturbed 
by  fear  of  revolution  and  devoted  themselves  with  ardor 
to  every  branch  of  activity.  Whoever  wished  could  obtain 
work  at  a  fair  remuneration,  and  capital  found  lucrative 
avenues  everywhere  open.  Private  and  public  enterprise 
covered  France  with  a  network  of  railroads.  Highways 
were  laid  out  and  bridges  constructed  in  all  directions. 
Easier  and  clieaper  means  of  communication  were  both  a 
cause  and  result  of  wonderful  development  in  manufactures 
and  trade.  Docks  were  constructed  and  harbors  dug  or 
enlarged.  Great  loan  companies  assisted  labor  and  savings- 
banks  sprang  up  to  receive  its  earnings.  Numerous  cham- 
bers of  commerce  and  agriculture  were  founded.  Duties 
on  grain  were  abolished.  Sagacious  commercial  treaties 
Avith  Great  Britain,  Italy,  Belgium  and  other  states  favored 
the  export  of  French  products  and  introduced  foreign 
products  at  cheaper  rates.  In  thirteen  years  the  exports 
and  imports  trebled  in  value. 

Hospitals  were  multiplied.  Convalescent  homes,  as  at 
Vincennes,  Vesinet,  and  Longchene,  orphanages,  asylums 
and  all  conceivable  institutions  of  beneficence  and  philan- 
thropy were  established.  Here  governmental  and  private 
L^juerosity  rivalled  each  other.  Popular  education  devel- 
oped as  never  before  in  France.  The  pupils  increased  by 
1,000,000  in  fifteen  years.  Special  attention  was  paid  to 
professional,   industrial  and   technical   schools.     The  law 


A.D.  1867.]  THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMPIRE  23 

of  April  10,  1867,  specifically  provided  for  the  education 
of  girls.  An  immense  number  of  school  libraries  were 
founded.  Instruction  seemed  an  antidote  for  crime.  "Ac- 
cording as  the  schools  filled  up  the  prisons  emptied." 

Paris,  congested  in  narrow  and  crooked  streets,  was  re- 
built on  a  magnificent  scale  by  Baron  Haussmann,  prefect 
of  the  Seine.  Even  the  Louvre,  hitherto  unfinished,  was 
completed.  Lyons  and  Marseilles  were  almost  transformed. 
The  same  thing  went  on  upon  a  proportional  scale  in  the 
other  cities  and  towns.  Public  gardens  and  parks  were 
created  for  the  diversion  and  health  of  the  people.  Sani- 
tary measures  diminished  the  death-rate.  A  sense  of  well- 
being  and  comfort  pervaded  the  country. 

The  Universal  Exposition  of  1867.  — This  was  the  visible 
expression  of  all  the  material  prosperity  under  the  empire. 
It  may  be  called  also  the  culmination  of  its  glory. 

The  Champ  de  Mars  was  converted  into  a  city  of  exhibi- 
tion, or  a  world  bazaar.  In  the  centre  rose  an  enormous 
palace  in  iron  and  glass,  enclosing  an  area  of  thirty-six 
acres,  packed  in  bewildering  fashion  with  whatever  was 
most  valuable  and  rare.  This  palace  was  over  1600  feet 
long  and  almost  1300  in  width.  It  was  surrounded  by 
gardens  adorned  with  works  of  art  and  edifices  represent- 
ing the  architecture,  manner  of  life  and  occupations  of  all 
nations.  From  all  over  the  globe  manufacturers,  inventors, 
agriculturists,  artists,  merchants  flocked  to  Paris  to  there 
exhibit  and  behold  all  the  achievements  of  peace  and  to  vie 
with  one  another  in  the  display  of  their  various  products. 
It  was  a  tournament  of  all  mankind,  where  international 
juries  awarded  prizes  for  the  best  things  which  the  human 
hand  and  brain  had  done.  No  equal  international  exhibi- 
tion had  ever  been  held.  It  surpassed  every  other  in  the 
number,  variety  and  excellence  of  the  articles  displayed, 
and  these  articles  represented  every  department  of  human 
science  and  activity.  There  were  51,819  exhibitors,  and 
it  was  visited  daily  during  six  months  by  over  70,000  per- 
sons. 

Inevitably,  because  held  in  France  and  other  nations 
were  more  or  less  remote,  the  French  exhibit  was  superior 
to  the  rest.  The  French  might  take  a  legitimate  pride, 
not  only  in  the  fact  that  the  marvellous  exhibition  was 
devised  by  them,  but  in  the  preeminent  splendor  of  their 
share    in   the    exhibit.      Napoleon    and   France    occupied 


24  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1862-1867. 

the  proud  position  of  hosts.  The  most  enlightened  for- 
eigners by  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  thronged  their 
capital  as  guests.  The  emperors  of  Russia  and  Austria, 
the  queen  of  Great  Britain,  the  kings  of  Italy,  Prussia, 
Belgium,  Sweden  and  Denmark,  the  sultan  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire,  and  numerous  other  rulers  of  civilized  or  barbarous 
states  by  their  presence  added  to  the  dignity  and  enhanced 
the  magnificence  of  the  occasion,  Paris  for  half  a  year 
was  decked  as  in  a  perpetual  fete. 

Humiliations  of  the  Empire.  —  Two  were  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  be  peculiarly  galling  to  a  sensitive  people.  The  first 
and  most  important  was  administered  by  the  United  States. 
In  1862  France,  Great  Britain  and  Spain  sent  a  joint  mili- 
tary expedition  to  Mexico  to  enforce  the  payment  of  certain 
claims.  When  their  ostensible  object  was  attained  Great 
Britain  and  Spain  withdrew.  The  United  States  were  then 
engaged  in  a  civil  war,  which  Napoleon  believed  would  end 
in  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  Therefore  he  judged  the 
occasion  favorable  to  set  up  a  Latin  empire,  which  should 
counterpoise  any  Anglo-Saxon  republics  in  the  Western  world. 
The  Archduke  Maximilian,  brother  of  the  emperor  of  Aus- 
tria, consented  to  accept  the  crown  to  be  wrung  for  him 
from  Mexico,  Napoleon  promising  to  maintain  an  army  of 
25,000  French  soldiers  for  the  protection  of  the  new  em- 
peror. The  American  government  had  refused  to  recognize 
any  authority  in  Mexico  except  that  of  the  dispossessed 
president,  Juarez,  but,  its  hands  tied  by  the  civil  war,  was 
unable  to  do  more.  After  the  confederacy  was  overthrown, 
it  notified  Napoleon  that  his  soldiers  must  be  withdrawn. 
The  French  emperor  judged  it  expedient  to  comply,  though 
in  so  doing  he  violated  his  promise  to  Maximilian  and  igno- 
miniously  left  him  to  destruction.  Meanwhile  Carlotta, 
the  devoted  wife  of  Maximilian,  journeyed  from  court  to 
court  in  Europe,  entreating  assistance  for  her  husband  and 
denouncing  the  desertion  of  him  by  Napoleon.  Successive 
disappointments  overthrew  her  reason.  The  Mexican  Em- 
pire was  destroyed  by  Juarez,  and  Maximilian  was  finally 
captured  and  shot  as  a  usurper  (June  19,  1867).  The  news 
of  the  terrible  disaster  reached  Europe  while  Paris  was  in  the 
full  tide  of  the  Universal  Exposition  and  cast  a  gloom  upon 
the  gayety  and  brilliancy  of  the  occasion.  The  French 
Empire  never  recovered  from  the  shock  of  this  Mexican 
failure. 


A.D.  1866-1870.]       THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMPIRE  25 

The  second  humiliation  was  the  work  of  Count  von  Bis- 
marck, president  of  the  Prussian  Cabinet.  In  the  Prusso- 
Austrian  war  of  1866  it  was  of  supreme  importance  to  the 
Prussians  to  prevent  the  interference  of  France  whose  sym- 
pathies lay  with  Austria.  So  Bismarck  gave  Napoleon  to 
understand  that  in  case  Prussia  was  victorious  and  increased 
her  territory,  France  should  receive  an  equivalent  by  the 
annexation  of  Luxemburg  on  her  northeastern  frontier. 
The  war  ended  in  the  aggrandizement  of  Prussia.  There- 
upon ISTapoleon  demanded  the  cession  of  Luxemburg,  but 
Bismarck  now  informed  him  that  the  Germans  were  opposed 
to  any  such  arrangement,  and  that  hence  it  was  impossible, 
Napoleon  had  thus  been  ridiculously  outwitted  in  the  face 
of  all  Europe.  But  France  was  utterly  unprepared  for  war 
and  could  only  submit  to  the  blow  dealt  her  own  and  her 
emperor's  prestige. 

The  third  humiliation  of  the  empire  was  inflicted  upon  it 
by  the  people  in  the  plebiscite  of  May  8,  1870.  By  vari- 
ous modifications,  introduced  voluntarily  by  the  sovereign, 
the  government  had  passed  from  the  absolute  autocracy  of 
1852  to  the  constitutional  or  parliamentary  monarchy  of 
1870.  Political  exiles  had  been  amnestied  and  made  eligible 
to  office.  Gradually  concessions,  although  not  extorted, 
had  been  granted  until  the  country  enjoyed  freedom  of  the 
press,  of  parliamentary  criticism  and  deljate,  responsibility 
of  the  ministers  to  the  Chamber,  and  a  constitution  revised 
in  a  liberal  sense.  By  the  latter,  granted  April  20,  1870, 
the  legislative  power  was  shared  by  the  Senate  and  the 
Chamber,  while  all  power  to  further  change  the  constitu- 
tion was  intrusted  to  the  people.  Upon  the  advice  of  his 
minister,  M.  Rouher,  the  emperor  asked  a  plebiscite  con- 
cerning the  reforms  successively  introduced  and  the  revised 
constitution.  An  affirmative  vote  was  furthermore  under- 
stood to  mean  attachment  to  the  reigning  dynasty.  Though 
there  were  only  1,500,000  nays  to  over  7,000,000  yeas,  the 
negative  vote  was  surprisingly  large  and  also  alarming  in 
what  it  represented.  While  the  rural  districts  were  to  all 
intents  unanimous,  an  immense  dissatisfaction  with  the 
state  of  things  was  revealed  by  the  vote  of  Paris,  the  larger 
cities,  and  the  army.  Moreover,  many  of  its  adherents 
were  indignant  at  the  recent  course  of  the  government  in 
despatching  French  troops  to  put  down  Garibaldi  and  in 
declaring  its  intention  to  maintain  by  arms  the  temporal 


26  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1870-1871. 

power  of  the  Pope.  The  plebiscite,  despite  the  immense 
majority  of  5,500,000,  was  considered  a  rebuff. 

The  Franco-Prussian  War  (1870-1871). — An  increasing 
exasperation  of  the  French  against  the  Prussians  and  a 
growing  animosity  between  the  two  states  had  existed  ever 
since  the  Prusso-Austrian  war.  An  ultimate  conflict  was 
inevitable.     Events  concurred  to  hasten  the  catastrophe. 

The  Spaniards,  who  had  expelled  their  Bourbon  dynasty, 
offered  the  Spanish  crown  to  Prince  Leopold  of  Hohen- 
zollern,  a  near  kinsman  of  William  I,  king  of  Prussia. 
All  France  was  on  fire  with  excitement.  Nor  was  the  agi- 
tation allayed  when  it  was  heard  that  the  prince  had  de- 
clined the  offer.  The  foreign  minister,  the  Duke  de 
Gramont,  the  Empress  Eugenie,  the  Chamber  and  the 
populace  of  Paris  did  their  utmost  to  fan  the  flames. 
Napoleon  and  the  calmer  heads,  like  Thiers,  were  averse 
to  war.  But  the  emperor,  exhausted  by  the  ravages  of  an 
incurable  malady,  was  no  longer  the  cool,  firm  man  who 
had  executed  the  coup  d'etat  or  commanded  at  Solferino. 
The  Duke  de  Gramont  asserted,  "  We  are  ready,  more  than 
ready,"  and  the  prime  minister,  Ollivier,  announced,  "We 
accept  the  responsibility  with  a  light  heart!"  War  was 
declared  by  France  on  July  15,  1870.  Never  was  a  war  a 
more  rapid  succession  of  disasters. 

Prussia,  under  William  I,  Von  Moltke,  minister  of  war, 
and  Von  Bismarck  had  for  years  been  steadily  preparing 
for  the  struggle  which  she  knew  was  to  come.  No  nation 
was  ever  more  terribly  ready.  Not  a  shoe-latchet  was 
wanting  to  the  troops.  Treaties  assured  her  the  active 
support  of  all  Germany.  Even  the  plans  of  campaign  were 
all  matured.  France  had  not  an  ally  on  whom  to  depend. 
Her  regiments  were  incomplete,  ill  provisioned  and  ill 
armed.  Yet,  intoxicated  with  rage  and  overweening  confi- 
dence in  herself,  she  threw  herself  into  the  conflict  as  a 
gambler  risks  his  all  upon  a  throw. 

The  French  armies  were  mobilized  with  distressing  slow- 
ness. Twenty  days  after  the  declaration  of  war  the  hostile 
forces  had  invaded  France.  The  crown  prince  of  Prussia 
defeated  General  Douay  at  Weissenburg  (August  4),  and, 
two  days  later,  with  100,000  men  destroyed  an  army  of 
45,000  men  under  Marshal  MacMahon  at  Worth.  Then, 
as  all  through  the  war,  the  French  fought  with  desperate 
courage  and  determination.     But  heroism  without  plan  and 


A.D.  1870.]  THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMPIRE  27 

with  inferior  arms  was  of  no  avail  against  equal  heroism 
attended  by  superior  numbers  and  skill.  The  battle  of 
Worth  was  decisive  of  the  campaign.  By  the  victory  the 
Prusso-German  forces  projected  into  France  like  a  mighty 
wedge,  and  afterwards  the  French  main  armies,  pressed  to 
the  right  and  left,  could  never  unite.  Moreover,  Austria 
and  Italy,  who  might  have  assisted  France,  were  disin- 
clined to  join  their  fortunes  to  a  lost  cause.  Skilful 
manoeuvres  and  the  victories  of  Forbach  and  Gravelotte 
succeeded  in  hemming  the  commander-in-chief.  Marshal 
Bazaine,  with  173,000  men,  inside  the  fortifications  of 
Metz.  There  he  was  at  once  besieged  by  the  crown  prince 
of  Saxony. 

Sedan.  —  A  forlorn  hope  remained  for  the  deliverance 
of  Bazaine.  Marshal  MacMahon,  the  ablest  general  of 
France,  with  130,000  troops  marched  to  his  relief.  But  he 
was  hampered  by  the  presence  of  the  emperor,  who  had 
left  the  Empress  Eugenie  as  regent,  and  by  the  constant 
interference  of  the  French  minister  of  war.  Count  Palikao. 
While  in  the  valley  of  Sedan  his  army  was  surrounded  by 
250,000  Germans,  who,  by  forced  marches  and  in  perfect 
obedience  to  concerted  plans,  had  closed  in  upon  them. 
Retreat  or  advance  was  impossible.  After  three  days  of 
hopeless  fight  and  terrible  loss,  the  French  surrendered, 
Napoleon  himself  offering  his  sword  to  King  William. 
Together  with  the  emperor  104,000  men  had  been  taken 
prisoners. 

Fall  of  the  Empire  (September  4,  1870). — The  news  of 
the  surrender  was  received  at  Paris  with  frenzy.  The  mob 
took  control,  pronounced  the  deposition  of  the  emperor  and 
proclaimed  the  republic.  On  the  pillars  of  the  Palace 
Bourbon  they  chalked  the  names  of  those  whom  they 
wished  to  direct  affairs  and  who,  without  further  election, 
assumed  authority  as  the  Government  of  National  Defence. 
General  Trochu  was  made  President,  Jules  Favre,  minister 
of  foreign  affairs,  Gambetta,  minister  of  the  interior, 
Jules  Simon,  minister  of  public  instruction,  and  General 
Le  Flo,  minister  of  war.  Their  attempts  to  place  the 
responsibility  for  the  war  upon  Napoleon  were  coldly  re- 
ceived by  the  Germans,  who  furthermore  showed  unwill- 
ingness to  treat  with  an  irresponsible  government.  M. 
Thiers  was  sent  to  London,  St.  Petersburg,  Vienna  and 
Florence  to  beg  assistance,  but  everywhere  in  vain.     Jules 


28  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1870-1871. 

Favre  declared  that  France  would  not  yield  an  inch  of  her 
soil,  and  the  Germans  had  resolved  to  consider  no  proposi- 
tions of  peace  that  did  not  include  the  acquisition  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine. 

Surrender  of  Metz  (October  27). — Completely  shut  in, 
Marshal  Bazaine  received  only  such  news  of  the  condition 
of  France  as  the  enemy  judged  expedient.  Cut  off  from  all 
hope  of  rescue,  his  cavalry  and  artillery  horses  killed  for 
food,  his  provisions  exhausted,  he  surrendered.  His  army 
of  173,000  men  was  sent  to  Germany  to  share  the  captivity 
of  the  prisoners  of  Sedan.  A  capitulation  on  such  an 
enormous  scale  was  unexampled.  No  event  in  the  war  has 
been  more  bitterly  criticised  and  its  necessity  more  angrily 
disputed.  After  the  cessation  of  hostilities  Bazaine  was 
tried  by  a  court-martial  and  condemned  to  death. 

In  spite  of  obstinate  resistance,  Toul  (September  23), 
Strasburg  (September  28),  Verdun  (November  8),  and  all 
the  fortified  places  of  northwestern  France,  except  Belfort, 
were  one  after  the  other  forced  to  capitulate. 

Siege  and  Surrender  of  Paris  (January  28,  1871). — The 
siege  of  Paris  began  on  September  19.  Gambetta  escaped 
in  a  balloon  (passing  over  the  German  lines),  and  reaching 
Toul  became  a  virtual  dictator.  Infusing  his  own  wild 
energy  into  the  people  of  central  and  southern  France,  he 
induced  them  to  prolong  a  hopeless  struggle.  Yet  each 
day's  added  resistance  could  only  increase  the  general  suf- 
fering and  force  harsher  terms  upon  France  in  the  end. 
Meanwhile  the  enemy,  leaving  sufficient  forces  for  the  siege 
of  Paris,  deluged  the  country  on  the  west  and  south.  The 
untrained  levies  under  Generals  Aurelle  de  Paladines  and 
Bourbaki  could  only  delay  but  not  prevent  their  advance. 

Paris  held  out  for  142  days.  The  city,  esteemed  frivolous, 
showed  such  sternness  and  tenacity  in  defence  as  no  other 
great  capital  has  ever  equalled.  Each  desperate  sortie  drew 
the  iron  bands  tighter  around  her,  and  she  yielded  at  last, 
not  to  the  Germans  but  to  famine.  The  German  Empire 
had  been  proclaimed  in  the  Palace  of  Versailles  ten  days 
before.  Even  then  Gambetta  was  unwilling  to  give  up,  and 
resigned  his  office  only  when  he  had  been  disavowed  by  the 
government  of  Paris. 

The  Treaty  of  Frankfort.  —  In  the  hour  of  her  extremest 
distress  France  turned  to  her  one  statesman,  Thiers.  He 
could  not  save  her,  but  he  might  somewhat  alleviate  the 


A.D.  1871.]  THE  SECOND  FRENCH  EMPIRE  29 

miseries  of  her  fall.  The  National  Assembly,  elected  by- 
German  consent,  met  at  Bordeaux.  The  Government  of 
National  Defence  laid  down  its  powers.  Thiers  was  ap- 
pointed to  form  a  ministry  and  negotiate  terms  of  peace. 
With  Count  Bismarck  he  wrestled  over  each  point  in  the 
Prussian  demands.  Hard  though  the  terms  imposed,  they 
would  have  been  still  harder  but  for  him.  It  was  agreed 
that  France  sliould  pay  $1,000,000,000  indemnity  in  the 
space  of  three  years,  and  that  all  Alsace  except  Belfort, 
and  one-fifth  of  Lorraine  including  Metz  should  be  annexed 
to  Germany.  The  evacuation  of  territory  was  to  take  place 
proportionally  as  the  indemnity  was  paid. 

This  preliminary  treaty  was  approved  by  the  French 
Assembly  on  March  2  and  formally  ratified  at  Frankfort  on 
May  10,  1871. 


30  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY 


GERMANY 
(1848-1871) 

Rivalry  of  Prussia  and  Austria.  —  Of  the  thirty-eight 
sovereignties  which  composed  the  German  Confederation, 
Austria  and  Prussia  were  by  far  the  most  important.  Both 
were  disliked  by  the  other  German  states,  but  Austria,  al- 
though the  larger  and  stronger,  was  dreaded  less  than  Prus- 
sia. During  the  preceding  150  years  they  had  gradually 
approached  each  other  by  an  inverse  process,  the  one  by 
intermittent  development  and  expansion,  the  other  by 
intermittent  decline,  until  they  stood  almost  upon  a  par. 
Liberty  had  nothing  to  hope  from  the  government  of  either. 
Nor  could  it  be  expected  that  either  would  advance  the 
cause  of  German  union  except  by  making  other  and  weaker 
states  dependent  upon  itself.  Prussia,  because  of  her  more 
restricted  territory  and  smaller  population,  caused  less 
anxiety  to  Europe  than  did  Austria,  who,  because  an  ag- 
glomeration of  races,  never  could  rally  the  Germans  to  the 
cry  of  nationality. 

The  problem  what  to  do  with  Austria  had  disturbed  the 
wordy  National  Assembly  at  Frankfort  in  1848  and  1849. 
Some  of  the  delegates  proposed  that  she  should  remain  a 
state  apart,  either  abandoning  her  German  provinces  or 
retaining  them,  but  in  any  case  to  be  reckoned  outside  of 
Germany.  Other  delegates  proposed  that  all  the  German 
states  and  all  the  Austrian  provinces  of  whatever  race 
should  combine  in  one  enormous  empire,  spanning  Europe 
from  the  Baltic  to  the  Adriatic,  and  that  Austria  should  be 
its  head.  The  first  of  these  propositions  may  be  called  the 
Prussian,  and  the  second  proposition  the  Austrian  plan. 
This  crucial  question  received  its  solution  only  eighteen 
years  afterwards,  and  meanwhile  affected  the  whole  current 
of  German  politics. 

duestion  of  Schleswig-Holstein  (1848-1855). — Schleswig 


A.D.  1848-1863.]  GERMANY  31 

and  Holstein  are  two  duchies  lying  between  Denmark  and 
Germany.  The  inhabitants  of  the  former  were  mainly, 
and  of  the  latter  exclusively,  German.  Both  enjoyed  a 
separate  political  existence,  with  their  own  customs  and 
laws,  although  their  sovereign  was  the  king  of  Denmark, 
Frederick  VII  at  his  accession  incorporated  Schleswig  with 
his  Danish  states.  But  the  German  Diet  as  formally  in- 
corporated Schleswig  with  Germany  and  appointed  Prussia 
by  the  sword  to  carry  this  action  into  effect.  The  Danes 
gained  the  advantage  in  battle.  A  protocol,  signed  at 
London  in  1850  by  Great  Britain,  France,  Austria,  Russia, 
Sweden  and  Denmark,  and  another  treaty  in  1852,  intro- 
duced diplomatic  arrangements  which  decided  little,  con- 
tented no  one,  but  contained  the  germ  of  future  trouble. 

The  king  went  on  with  his  attempted  Danification  of  the 
duchies.  In  1855  he  published  a  constitution  wherein  the 
same  laws  were  applied  indiscriminately  to  them  and  to  all 
his  other  provinces.  The  duchies  protested,  Germany 
threatened  to  interfere,  and  Frederick  granted  certain  con- 
cessions. The  general  irritation  did  not  diminish.  Rely- 
ing on  the  promise  of  Great  Britain  to  protect  the  integrity 
of  Danish  territory  and  swept  along  by  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  Danes,  the  king  persisted  in  measures  that  were  both 
impolitic  and  unjust.  In  1863  by  a  manifesto  he  assimi- 
lated Schleswig  to  his  other  possessions  and  declared  that 
Holstein  should  pay  certain  taxes,  which  had  not  been  voted 
by  her  Estates.  After  fruitless  negotiations  the  German 
Diet  determined  on  armed  intervention  and  occupied  Hol- 
stein by  Saxon  and  Hanoverian  troops  (December,  1863). 
The  Danish  forces  withdrew  without  resistance  into  Schles- 
wig. Thus  far  the  contention  had  been  one  of  race.  The 
Danes  had  determined  to  blot  out  the  German  character  of 
the  duchies,  which  the  inhabitants  of  those  duchies  were  as 
determined  to  retain. 

King  William  I  and  Otto  von  Bismarck.  —  On  January 
2,  1861,  William  I  ascended  the  Prussian  throne.  His 
brother,  Frederick  William  IV,  suffering  from  insanity,  he 
had  acted  as  regent  during  the  preceding  two  years.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong  character  and  decided  opinions,  fully 
persuaded  of  the  divine  right  of  kings.  His  despotic  sen- 
timents often  brought  him  into  collision  with  the  people, 
and  he  was  by  no  means  popular.  A  soldier  from  his  birth, 
he  believed  the  welfare  of  Prussia  was  bound  up  in  the  army. 


32  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1861-18M. 

Though  otherwise  evincing  no  extraordinary  talents,  he 
showed,  remarkable  sagacity  in  the  choice  of  men  for  im- 
portant positions.  Then  he  honored  them  with  his  full 
confidence,  and,  absolute  as  he  was,  allowed  them  wide 
latitude  in  carrying  out  his  ideas.  In  the  autumn  after  his 
accession  he  appointed  Otto  von  Bismarck  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  and  President  of  the  Cabinet.  No  other 
choice  could  have  been  equally  felicitous.  If  the  renown  of 
the  minister  afterwards  overshadowed  that  of  the  master,  it 
was  largely  gained  by  the  fidelity  as  well  as  the  wonderful 
ability  of  his  services.  From  1862  to  1870  the  biography 
of  Bismarck  is  the  history  of  Prussia;  from  1870  to  1890 
his  biography  is  the  history  of  Germany.  In  an  epoch- 
making  age  he  stands  without  a  peer  among  the  statesmen 
of  continental  Europe. 

A  conflict  was  pending  in  1862  between  the  king  and  the 
Prussian  parliament  over  the  bill  reorganizing  the  army. 
The  scheme  proposed  more  than  doubled  the  numbers  of  its 
troops  while  vastly  increasing  their  efficiency.  But  the 
people  saw  in  the  project  only  an  additional  weapon  of 
despotism.  The  lower  Chamber  loaded  the  bill  with 
amendments  and  finally  rejected  it  altogether.  Bismarck 
had  no  respect  for  popular  votes  or  parliamentary  majori- 
ties. Already  he  had  declared  that  the  great  questions  of 
the  time  were  to  be  settled  "by  blood  and  iron."  He  ad- 
vised the  king  to  prorogue  the  Chambers,  silence  the  press, 
and  reorganize  the  army  as  he  pleased.  His  advice  was 
followed. 

The  military  system  of  Prussia,  which  was  to  defeat 
Austria,  crush  France  and  reunite  Germany,  was  the  result. 
But  it  was  founded  none  the  less  on  a  royal  usurpation  of 
legislative  rights. 

Austro-Prussian  Occupation  of  Schleswig-Holstein  (1863- 
1864).  —  The  troubles  in  the  duchies  afforded  Bismarck 
an  admirable  opportunity.  First  he  strenuously  persuaded 
Austria  to  join  Prussia  and  interfere,  regardless  of  the 
Diet  and  of  the  wishes  of  the  other  German  states.  After 
sending  an  ultimatum  to  Copenhagen,  which  was  rejected, 
the  Prussian  and  Austrian  forces  invaded  Denmark,  not 
as  the  armed  agents  of  Germany  or  in  behalf  of  the  duchies, 
but  solely  on  their  own  account.  The  little  nation  was 
helpless  against  their  attack.  Neither  did  she  re'ceive 
the  promised  aid  of  Great   Britain.     By  the  treaty  of 


A.D.  18Gi-1866.]  GERMANY  S3 

Vienna  (October  30,  18G4)  Christian  IX  was  obliged  to 
cede  all  the  disputed  territory  to  Prussia  and  Austria 
jointly.  The  odium  of  the  conquest  fell  equally  on  the  two 
Powers,  but  the  gains  were  to  be  reaped  only  by  Prussia. 
By  the  convention  of  Gastein  —  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
diplomatic  triumphs  Bismarck  ever  won  —  to  her  was  as- 
signed Schleswig  with  the  seaport  of  Kiel  in  Holstein. 
Austria  was  to  retain  Holstein,  a  distant  acquisition,  which 
could  only  be  to  her  a  source  of  weakness  and  a  cause  of 
future  trouble. 

Seven  Weeks'  "War  between  Prussia  and  Austria  (1866). 
—  Prussia  was  at  last  ready  for  the  final  struggle  against 
her  adversary.  Her  army  was  fully  disciplined  and 
equipped.  Great  Britain,  France  and  Russia  endeavored 
to  mediate  and  prevent  the  war,  but  to  no  purpose.  Most 
of  the  German  states  sided  with  Austria.  On  June  15 
Prussia  declared  war  against  Hanover,  Hesse  and  Saxony. 
On  the  20th  Italy,  whose  offensive  and  defensive  alliance 
had  been  gained  by  the  promise  of  Venetia,  declared  war 
against  Austria  and  Bavaria.  Meanwhile  Prussia  bad 
500,000  men  under  arms.  She  struck  with  astounding 
rapidity,  but  Austria  and  her  allies  moved  as  in  sleep  or 
stupor.  Within  a  week  Hanover,  Hesse  and  Saxony  were 
svibdued,  their  armies  captured  or  destroyed  and  their 
kings  in  flight.  Into  Bohemia,  whose  passes  were  unde- 
fended, poured  280,000  men  with  800  guns.  Marshal 
Benedek  had  no  more  than  210,000  men  and  762  guns  of 
inferior  calibre  with  which  to  oppose  them.  In  two  days' 
time  he  lost  a  sixth  of  his  army  and  sent  word  to  the  Aus- 
trian emperor  that  his  only  hope  was  in  peace.  The  reply 
was  an  order  to  give  battle,  and  the  order  was  obeyed. 

Sadowa  (July  3,  1866). — Benedek  chose  a  strong  posi- 
tion at  Sadowa  in  an  amphitheatre  of  wooded  hills  in  front 
of  Koniggratz,  the  Elbe  being  in  his  rear.  With  the  pre- 
cision of  a  machine  his  foes  in  three  several  armies  under 
King  William,  Count  von  Moltke,  the  Minister  of  War, 
the  Crown  Prince,  General  von  Roon,  General  Hiller,  Prince 
Frederick  Charles  and  other  of  the  ablest  commanders  in 
Europe  were  marching  upon  him.  Even  Bismarck  was 
there  to  rejoice  in  the  ruin  for  which  he  had  prepared  the 
way  and  to  conduct  the  negotiations  after  the  already 
certain  victory. 

The  Prussians  began  their  attack  at  three  o'clock  in  the 


34  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1866-1871. 

morning.  The  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia  witli  his  army  was 
to  reach  his  position  on  the  extreme  Austrian  right  ten 
hours  later.  The  Austrians  held  their  ground  with  un- 
flinching courage,  but  mere  gallantry  is  a  minor  element  in 
modern  warfare.  Even  the  fog  fought  for  the  Prussians 
and  masked  the  movements  of  the  Crown  Prince  until  his 
army  assailed  and  destroyed  the  Austrian  right.  Driven 
from  their  lines  by  the  always  mounting  tide  of  the  attack, 
the  soldiers  of  Benedek  at  last  gave  way  and  in  one  enor- 
mous broken  mass  rushed  toward  the  river.  That  day's 
fighting  cost  Austria  4190  killed,  11,900  wounded,  20,000 
prisoners  and  160  cannon.  Above  all,  it  hurled  her  out  of 
Germany  and  crowned  Prussia,  her  hereditary  foe,  with 
the  leadership  over  the  Germans. 

It  is  common  to  ascribe  the  victory  at  Sadowa  to  the 
Prussian  needle-gun,  which,  though  carrying  a  shorter  dis- 
tance, could  be  fired  five  times  as  fast  as  the  Austrian 
cannon  and  with  far  deadlier  effect.  The  superiority  of 
this  weapon  however  was  but  one  among  the  many  factors 
that  ensured  Prussian  success. 

The  road  to  Vienna  was  open.  There  was  no  army  to 
oppose  the  advance  of  the  invaders.  After  ineffectual  at- 
tempts at  negotiation,  Austria  implored  the  mediation  of 
Napoleon  to  secure  peace,  thereby  abandoning  her  as  yet 
unconquered  and  unattacked  allies,  Bavaria,  Baden,  Wiir- 
temberg,  Hesse  and  other  south  German  states.  They 
were  subdued  with  celerity. 

Meanwhile,  Austrian  dynastic  pride  was  soothed  by  the 
victory  of  the  Archduke  Albert  over  the  Italians  at  Custozza 
(June  24),  an  ill-omened  field  for  Italy,  and  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Italian  navy  at  Lissa  (July  20)  by  Admiral 
Tegetthoff. 

Hegemony  of  Prussia  (1866-1871). —The  conditions  of 
peace  were,  as  always,  hard  for  the  vanquished.  Austria 
recognized  her  exclusion  from  Germany,  abandoned  her 
claims  to  Schleswig  and  Holstein,  ceded  Venetia  to  Italy, 
agreed  to  pay  an  indemnity  of  20,000,000  thalers,  and  left 
Prussia  free  to  organize  Germany  as  she  pleased. 

Prussia  added  to  her  territory  Hanover,  despite  the  pro- 
tests of  Great  Britain,  the  electorate  of  Hesse,  Nassau,  the 
free  city  of  Prankfort,  Schleswig-Holstein  and  certain 
smaller  territories  to  facilitate  her  internal  communica- 
tions.    Upon  the   states  of  southern  Germany,  Bavaria, 


A.D.  1871.]  GERMANY  35 

Wiirtemberg  and  Baden,  slie  imposed  treaties  of  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance,  and  Avas  also  guaranteed  the  com- 
mand of  their  armies  in  case  of  war.  These  treaties  how- 
ever were  to  be  kept  profoundly  secret. 

The  most  manifest  and  imposing  monument  of  Sadowa 
was  the  North  German  Confederation,  of  which  the  king 
of  Prussia  was  president.  It  comprised  Prussia  and  in 
general  all  the  states  north  of  the  river  Main.  Though  a 
federal  parliament,  the  Eeichstag,  was  created,  each  state 
retained  its  own  chambers  and  local  laws.  A  federal  coun- 
cil, wherein  out  of  forty-three  votes  Prussia  had  seventeen, 
regulated  federal  relations.  Even  the  reluctant  southern 
kingdoms  were  shrewdly  interested  in  the  new  order,  being 
requested  to  send  delegates  who,  together  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Reichstag,  should  decide  the  customs-dues  and 
tlie  tariff  regulations  of  all  Germany.  The  North  German 
Confederation  was  the  sure  prophecy  of  the  speedy  German 
unihcation  under  a  German  Empire. 

The  colors  of  Prussia  were  black  and  white.  The  new 
national  standard  in  its  union  of  black,  white  and  red  pro- 
claimed her  hegemony. 

Unification  of  Germany  (1871).  —  It  is  a  truism,  but  none 
the  less  true,  that  it  was  the  Prussian  schoolmaster  who 
gained  the  battle  of  Sadowa.  Success  intensified  rather 
than  relaxed  the  efforts  and  ambitions  of  the  mighty  men 
who  controlled  the  destinies  of  Prussia.  Every  energy  was 
devoted  to  preparation  for  the  next  war,  which,  whoever 
the  aggressor,  all  Europe  foresaw  would  be  with  France. 
The  Prussian  generals,  diplomats  and  statesmen  formed  a 
galaxy,  rare  in  any  age,  and  above  them  towered  the  king, 
Von  Bismarck  and  Von  Moltke.  "  Let  us  work  fast,  gen- 
tlemen," said  Bismarck.  "Let  us  put  Germany  in  the 
saddle.  She  will  know  how  to  ride."  In  1868  Von  Moltke 
laid  before  the  king  his  plan  of  campaign  in  case  of  the 
invasion  of  France. 

In  a  mad  hour  like  an  angry  child  France  drew  the  sword. 
The  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1870-1871,  with  the  dethrone- 
ment of  the  Napoleonic  dynasty,  the  captivity  of  400,000 
French  soldiers,  and  the  humiliations  of  Sedan  and  Metz, 
was  the  result.  To  Prussia  and  to  Germany  it  wrought 
realization  of  the  enthusiastic  dreams  of  Arndt  and  of  the 
calmer  projects  of  Frederick  the  Great,  Von  Stein  and  Bis- 
marck in  the  accomplishment  of  national  unity.    The  blood, 


36  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1871. 

wlucli  all  the  German  states  shed  together  on  the  fields  of 
France,  cemented  the  bonds  of  race  as  nothing  else  could 
have  done.  The  factious  opposition  of  feudal  traditions 
and  local  jealousies  could  not  longer  continue.  The  Reichs- 
tag in  an  address  to  the  king  of  Prussia,  presented  on 
December  18,  1870,  employed  these  words:  "The  North 
German  parliament,  in  unison  with  the  princes  of  Ger- 
many, approaches  with  the  prayer  that  your  Majesty  will 
deign  to  consecrate  the  work  of  unification  by  accepting  the 
imperial  crown  of  Germany.  The  Teutonic  crown  on  the 
head  of  your  Majesty  will  inaugurate  for  the  reestablished 
empire  of  the  German  nation  an  era  of  honor,  of  peace,  of 
well-being  and  of  liberty  secured  under  the  protection  of 
the  laws." 

The  Palace  of  Versailles  is  the  architectural  masterpiece 
and  favorite  residence  of  Louis  XIV,  the  arch-enemy  of 
the  Germans.  More  than  half  a  century  ago  it  was  con- 
verted into  an  enormous  historical  picture-gallery  and  its 
walls  were  covered  with  countless  splendid  paintings  rep- 
resenting all  the  French  conquests  and  triumphs  during 
hundreds  of  years.  In  the  gorgeous  throne-room  of  this 
palace,  hung  all  around  with  the  royal  glories  of  its  founder, 
the  German  Empire  was  proclaimed  on  January  18,  1871, 
and  the  king  of  Prussia  accepted  for  himself  and  his  de- 
scendants the  imperial  crown.  No  coronation  at  Frankfort 
or  Berlin  could  have  been  so  eloquent  and  so  impressive. 
The  shouts  of  the  victorious  assemblage,  hailing  a  resur- 
rected and  united  Germany,  announced  a  new  era,  and 
woke  echoes  in  the  neighboring  room  where  Louis  XIV 
had  died. 


THE  THIRD  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  37 


VI 

THE  THIRD   FRENCH  REPUBLIC 
(1871-1898) 

The  Commune  (March  18-May  28,  1871). — A  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  National  Assembly,  though  not  vent- 
uring to  overthrow  the  republic,  inclined  to  a  monarchical 
form  of  government.  Therefore  they  were  regarded  with 
suspicion  and  even  hated  by  a  large  section  of  the  Parisian 
populace.  The  sufferings  of  the  siege,  indignation  at  the 
triumphal  entry  of  the  Germans  and  the  exasperation  of 
failure  had  wrought  the  lower  classes  to  frenzy.  It  was 
easy  for  the  so-called  Central  Committee,  representing 
every  radical  and  anarchistic  notion  and  strong  in  the  sup- 
port of  the  dregs  of  the  people,  to  rouse  the  mob,  unfurl 
the  red  flag,  seize  the  city  and  all  the  fortifications  except 
Mount  Valerian  and  proclaim  the  Commune.  Some  of  the 
still  armed  national  guard  rallied  to  their  side.  Eager  for 
blood,  they  assassinated  General  Lecomte  and  General 
Thomas,  who  had  fought  well  for  France.  M.  Thiers,  the 
government  officials,  and  the  members  of  the  Assembly  had 
time  to  withdraw  to  Versailles. 

Marshal  MacMahon,  now  healed  from  his  wounds,  and 
many  French  prisoners  of  war  had  already  returned.  The 
marshal  had  the  melancholy  duty  of  placing  himself  at 
their  head  to  put  down  an  insurrection  of  their  fellow-coun- 
trymen. It  was  necessary  to  undertake  a  regular  siege  and 
bombard  the  capital.  Inside  the  city  any  semblance  of 
order  soon  gave  way  to  anarchy,  but  the  insurgents  fought 
with  ferocity.  They  butchered  Monseigneur  Darboy,  — the 
third  archbishop  of  Paris  who  has  fallen  victim  during  this 
century  to  a  Parisian  mob,  — the  curate  of  the  Madeleine, 
and  the  President  of  the  Court  of  Appeals.  In  the  quarter  ^ 
of  Belleville  they  slaughtered  sixty-two  soldiers  and  priests 
whom  they  held  as  hostages.  After  the  government  troops 
had  forced  their  way  through  the  gates,  a  murderous  hand- 


38  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1871-1873. 

to-haud  fight  in  the  streets  continued  for  seven  days  before 
resistance  was  quelled.  Maddened  by  rage  at  defeat  the 
communists  sought  to  destroy  all  Paris  and  bury  themselves 
in  its  ashes.  The  women  were  more  demoniac  than  the 
men.  They  succeeded  in  burning  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  the 
Palace  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  the  Palace  of  the  Tuileries, 
the  Library  of  the  Louvre,  and  many  other  public  and  pri- 
vate buildings.  The  column  of  the  Place  Vendome  they 
threw  to  the  ground.  The  horrified  troops  showed  scant 
mercy  to  their  miserable  captives.  Por  a  year  there  were 
court-martials  and  executions.  Thirteen  thousand  persons 
were  transported  or  condemned  to  prison  for  the  crimes  of 
the  Commune.  In  the  wars  of  1500  years  Paris  had  never 
suffered  as  at  the  hands  of  her  own  children  in  this 
insurrection. 

M.  Thiers,  President  of  the  Republic  (1871-1873).— 
Thus,  at  the  beginning  of  his  presidency  had  devolved  upon 
Thiers  two  cruel  tasks.  The  one  was  to  make  peace  with 
a  foreign  invader  gorged  with  victory.  The  other  was  to 
extinguish  civil  war. 

The  sight  of  an  army  of  occupation  wounded  the  nation 
to  the  quick.  With  tireless  energy  and  wonderful  skill 
Thiers  devoted  himself  to  discharging  the  war  indemnity  of 
$1,000,000,000.  By  September,  1873,  it  had  all  been  paid, 
not  in  paper  but  in  hard  coin,  and  the  last  German  soldier 
had  recrossed  the  frontier.  The  president  well  deserved 
the  title  of  "Liberator  of  the  Territory,"  which  was  decreed 
him  in  public  opinion. 

How  long  the  deputies  of  the  Assembly  should  hold  their 
seats  had  never  been  determined,  and  they  governed  with- 
out a  constitution.  Thiers  was  a  liberal  monarchist,  but 
a  patriot  above  all.  He  believed  that  under  the  circum- 
stances only  a  republican  form  of  government  was  possible 
for  France.  Thereby  he  incurred  the  hostility  of  the 
majority  which  was  made  up  of  legitimists,  Orleanists  and 
imperialists.  These  groups  were  at  variance  with  one 
another  and  agreed  only  in  antagonism  to  the  republic. 
Some  were  moved  by  loyalty  to  a  dynasty;  others  by  the 
dreaded  spectre  of  radicalism  and  the  red  flag.  On  May  23, 
1873,  by  a  test  vote  of  360  to  344  the  Assembly  expressed 
its  desire  that  the  president  should  change  his  policy.  The 
old  man,  whose  life  of  seventy-six  years  had  been  conse- 
crated to  his  country,  preferred  to  resign. 


A.D.  1873-1875.]      THE   THIRD  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  39 

Presidency  of  Marshal  MacMahon  (1873-1879).  —On  the 
same  day  the  Assembly  elected  Marshal  MacMahon,  Duke 
of  Magenta,  as  his  successor.  This  soldier  of  the  empire 
was  supposed  to  be  Orleanist  at  heart.  He  was  a  man 
of  upright  character,  universally  esteemed,  but  cast  in 
the  mould  of  a  general  rather  than  of  a  statesman.  The 
Orleanist  Duke  de  Broglie  was  made  minister  of  foreign 
affairs.  In  the  new  ministry  all  the  three  monarchist 
groups  were  represented.  The  republicans  were  likewise 
split  into  three  sections:  the  Left  Centre  or  conservative 
republicans;  the  Left  or  more  advanced  republicans;  the 
Extreme  Left  or  radicals.  The  last  faction  were  under  the 
control  of  Gambetta,  a  natural  orator  and  skilled  politician 
who,  despite  his  restless  temperament,  knew  how  to  tem- 
porize and  wait. 

The  Republic  existed  de  facto,  but  had  never  been  offi- 
cially decreed.  The  Orleanists  fused  with  the  legitimists 
and  consented  to  proclaim  the  childless  Henry,  Count  of 
Chambord,  as  king,  the  succession  to  devolve  on  the  Count 
of  Paris,  the  head  of  the  house  of  Orleans.  The  vote  of  the 
Assembly  seemed  secured  for  the  grandson  of  Charles  X, 
when  the  monarchist  schemes  were  wrecked  on  the  question 
of  the  color  of  a  flag.  The  Count  of  Chambord  refused  to 
recognize  the  tricolor,  associated  with  the  Revolution  and 
the  empire,  and  made  his  acceptance  of  the  throne  condi- 
tional upon  the  restoration  of  the  white  flag.  Henry  IV 
had  declared  that  Paris  is  worth  a  mass.  His  descendant, 
Henry  of  Chambord,  chose  to  reject  a  throne  rather  than 
abandon  the  symbol  of  his  house.  Negotiations  could  go 
no  farther,  for  the  tricolor  was  interwoven  with  all  the 
later  life  of  Prance.  The  disappointed  monarchists  to- 
gether with  the  republican  Left  Centre  voted  that  the  presi- 
dency of  Marshal  MacMahon  should  continue  for  seven 
years  (November  20,  1873).  Alarmed  by  the  progress  of 
imperialism,  the  Assembly,  on  January  30,  1875,  by  a 
majority  of  one  recognized  the  Republic  as  the  definite 
government  of  Prance. 

Meanwhile  the  deputies  toiled  laboriously  at  the  forma- 
tion of  a  provisional  constitution,  which  was  finally  voted 
on  Pebruary  25,  1875.  This  constitution  was  added  to  or 
modified  several  times  in  the  course  of  the  year.  It  pro- 
vided for  a  Chamber  of  733  deputies  elected  by  universal 
suffrage  for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  for  a  Senate  of  300 


40  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1875-1877. 

members,  225  to  be  elected  by  the  departments  and  colonies 
for  a  term  of  nine  years  —  seventy-five  going  out  of  office 
every  three  years  —  and  seventy-five  by  the  national  assem- 
bly for  life.  The  president  of  the  Eepublic  was  to  be 
chosen,  not  by  a  plebiscite,  but  by  the  Senate  and  Chamber 
of  Deputies  meeting  in  joint  session.  He  was  to  hold  office 
for  seven  years  and  could  be  reelected.  His  power  was  to 
resemble  that  of  a  constitutional  sovereign  and  his  ministers 
were  responsible  to  the  Chambers.  The  attributes  of  the 
two  houses  were  poorly  defined,  and  were  sure  to  be  the 
cause  of  future  contention.  Distrust  of  or  indifference  to 
the  will  of  the  people  was  a  marked  feature  in  the  elabora- 
tion of  the  constitution.  Thus  Versailles,  and  not  Paris, 
was  declared  the  seat  of  government  and  legislation.  More- 
over, each  faction  sought  to  so  adjust  the  provisions  as  to 
perpetuate  itself.  The  Senate  was  carefully  designed  as 
a  bulwark  of  conservatism  or  an  obstructive  force. 

The  Assembly  dissolved  in  December,  1875.  The  elec- 
tions gave  a  strong  majority  in  the  Chamber  to  the  repub- 
licans. M.  Dufaure  became  President  of  the  Council,  or 
prime  minister,  with  M.  Leon  Say  as  minister  of  finance. 
He  was  succeeded  a  few  months  later  by  M.  Jules  Simon, 
an  orator  and  versatile  writer  as  well  as  accomplished  states- 
man. He  endeavored  to  serve  the  nation  rather  than  a 
party,  and  to  maintain  a  middle  course  between  the  con- 
servatives and  the  radicals,  who  daily  became  more  hostile 
to  each  other.  Religious  questions  intensified  the  dispute. 
The  prime  minister  satisfied  none  and  alienated  all. 

The  republican  sentiment  was  daily  becoming  stronger 
in  the  country,  but  Marshal  MacMahon  was  too  much 
bound  by  traditions  and  of  too  inflexible  a  nature  to  under- 
stand or  conform  to  the  march  of  public  opinion.  On  May 
16,  1877,  he  brought  about  the  resignation  of  M.  Simon, 
and  appointed  a  monarchist  ministry  whose  principal  mem- 
bers were  the  Orleanist  Duke  de  Broglie  and  the  impe- 
rialist M.  de  Fourtou.  The  Senate  was  compliant  and 
approving,  but  the  refractory  Chamber  of  Deputies  was 
prorogued  for  a  month.  When  it  reassembled,  by  an  im- 
mense majority  it  passed  a  vote  of  lack  of  confidence  in  the 
ministry.  The  Senate  authorized  the  dissolution  of  the 
Chamber,  which  was  at  once  dissolved.  A  coup  d'etat  was 
dreaded,  whereby  some  sort  of  monarchy  should  be  imposed, 
but  the  monarchists  could  not  agree  upon  whose  brow  to 
place  the  crown. 


A.D.  1877-1879.]       THE  THIRD  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  41 

Then  followed  all  over  the  country  the  most  genuine 
electoral  campaign  in  which  France  had  ever  engaged.  The 
government  applied  all  the  pressure  in  its  power  to  deter- 
mine the  result.  The  marshal  traversed  the  country,  his 
partisans  believing  many  votes  would  be  influenced  by  his 
military  renoAvn  and  by  the  memory  of  his  great  services 
under  the  empire.  Gambetta  organized  the  opposition  and 
everywhere  delivered  impassioned  and  convincing  speeches. 
For  a  time  he  allowed  his  radicalism  to  slumber  that  he 
might  rally  under  one  banner  all  the  anti-monarchists  of 
whatever  camp.  A  practical  theorist,  he  had  declared  that 
a  principle  must  not  be  pushed  too  far  and  that  one  must 
make  the  best  of  opportunity  rather  than  risk  everything 
and  so  perhaps  lose  all.  For  this  he  was  later  called  an 
opportunist,  and  the  name  was  applied  to  those  who  fol- 
lowed his  lead. 

In  the  heat  of  the  electoral  battle  Thiers  died  at  St.  Ger- 
main. He,  more  than  any  other  man,  had  been  the 
acknowledged  chief  of  the  liberal  party.  National  grati- 
tude conspired  with  party  loyalty  to  make  his  funeral  the 
occasion  of  an  imposing  and  overwhelming  demonstra- 
tion. 

The  republican  victory  was  magnificent.  In  the  new 
Chamber  the  opponents  of  the  marshal  had  a  majority  of 
110,  which  was  further  increased  by  invalidating  the  elec- 
tions of  fifty -two  government  candidates.  They  refused  to 
vote  the  budget  unless  the  president  chose  his  cabinet  from 
the  parliamentary  majority.  He  yielded,  and  called  to  the 
ministry  MM.  Dufaure,  Waddington,  Marcere,  de  Frey- 
cinet  and  Leon  Say. 

The  following  year  there  was  a  truce  in  political  strife. 
France  and  Paris  united  to  further  the  International  Expo- 
sition of  1878,  endeavoring  to  eclipse  its  brilliant  prede- 
cessor of  1867.  The  seats  of  seventy-five  senators  became 
vacant  in  1879.  The  success  of  the  republicans  was  so 
complete  as  to  assure  them  henceforth  a  majority  in  that 
hitherto  conservative  body.  Marshal  MacMahon  judged 
his  position  untenable  and  resigned  the  chief  magistracy 
(January  30,  1879). 

His  presidency  was  the  long  crisis  in  the  history  of  the 
France  of  to-day.  The  longer  the  crisis  continued,  the  more 
definite  and  stable  the  result.  Since  then  president, 
Chamber  and  Senate  have  been  in  political  accord  as  to  the 


42  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1879-1882. 

system  of  government.  That  16th  of  May,  1877,  when 
M.  Simon  was  dismissed  and  the  Duke  de  Broglie  appointed 
prime  minister,  was  the  Sadowa  of  monarchical  restoration 
in  France. 

Presidency  of  M.  Grevy  (1879-1887).  —M.  Grevy  was  at 
once  elected  president  of  the  Eepublic.  Gambetta  suc- 
ceeded him  as  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  Fre- 
quent changes  in  the  ministry  followed  one  another,  the 
conservatives  growing  weaker  and  the  radical  tendency 
becoming  continually  more  marked.  The  death  of  the 
Prince  Imperial  in  South  Africa  (June  8,  1880),  where  he 
had  joined  a  British  expedition  against  the  Zulus,  blasted 
the  rising  hopes  of  the  imperialists,  who  could  not  agree  as 
to  who  should  be  regarded  as  heir  of  his  claims. 

The  seat  of  government  was  removed  from  Versailles  to  ■ 
Paris.  The  schools  and  convents  of  the  Jesuits  were  sup- 
pressed. A  special  authorization  was  required  for  the 
existence  of  the  other  religious  orders.  Public  education 
was  extended  while  removed  from  the  hands  of  the  clergy. 
All  persons  still  under  condemnation  for  participation  in 
the  commune  were  amnestied.  The  14th  of  July,  the  an- 
niversary of  the  capture  of  the  Bastile,  was  declared  a 
national  holiday.  M.  Jules  Ferry  replaced  as  prime  min- 
ister M.  de  Freycinet,  who  was  not  considered  sufficiently 
energetic  in  enforcing  the  decrees  against  the  religious 
orders.  An  expedition  to  Tunis  forced  the  bey  to  sign  a 
treaty,  placing  his  country  under  the  protectorate  of  France. 
Gambetta  at  last  became  prime  minister  (November  14, 
1881).  Much  was  expected  of  him,  but  his  old-time  energy 
and  fire  seemed  to  have  disappeared.  Nor  did  he  receive 
tlie  support  of  the  Chamber  in  the  measures  he  proposed. 
After  holding  office  for  a  little  more  than  two  months  he 
resigned,  and  died  soon  after,  never  having  attained  the 
presidency,  the  goal  of  his  ambition. 

In  Egypt  complications  arose.  The  khedive  had  con- 
fided the  supervision  of  the  finances  to  two  controllers, 
appointed  by  Great  Britain  and  France  respectively,  so  as 
to  protect  the  French  and  British  holders  of  Egyptian  bonds. 
Judging  the  interests  of  their  subjects  endangered,  the  two 
Powers  determined  to  interfere  (1882).  After  much  inde- 
cision France  refused  to  cooperate  in  the  military  interven- 
tion, which  was  carried  out  by  Great  Britain,  and  the  dual 
control  abolished. 


A.D.  1882-1887.]      THE   THIRD  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  43 

In  Madagascar  the  Hovas  encroached  on  the  privileges  of 
certain  French  residents.  The  French  admiral  who  com- 
manded the  squadron  in  the  Indian  Ocean  demanded  that 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  island  should  be  placed  under 
a  French  protectorate  and  a  large  indemnity  be  paid  (1883). 
The  queen  of  the  Hovas  refused.  Her  capital,  Tamatave, 
was  bombarded,  but  the  French  afterwards  were  signally 
defeated.  Finally  by  treaty  it  was  arranged  that  adminis- 
tration of  internal  affairs  should  be  left  to  the  queen,  but 
that  France  should  control  the  foreign  relations  of  the 
island. 

Then  followed  (1884)  an  inglorious  war  with  China,  in 
consequence  of  French  incursions  into  territory  over  which 
the  Chinese  asserted  suzerainty.  After  terrible  loss  and 
expense  the  French  were  confirmed  in  the  possession  of 
Annam  and  Tonquin.  The  by  no  means  fruitful  expedi- 
tions to  Madagascar  and  China  caused  the  fall  of  M,  Jules 
Ferry  (1885),  who  had  been  prime  minister  for  twenty-five 
months.  In  1885  the  constitution  was  revised  and  some  of 
its  conservative  features  expunged.  The  Senate  was  de- 
prived of  any  right  to  interfere  in  the  budget,  and  it  was 
determined  that  henceforth  no  senator  should  be  elected  for 
life.  A  law  was  also  passed  enforcing  scrutin  de  liste,  or 
the  election  of  deputies  upon  a  general  departmental  ticket. 
By  the  previous  system  of  scrutin  d'arrondissement  each 
deputy  had  been  elected  singly  by  the  vote  of  the  district 
which  he  represented. 

In  the  elections  of  1885  the  radicals  and  socialists,  as 
well  as  the  monarchists,  made  large  gains  at  the  expense 
of  the  moderate  republicans.  Thereupon  the  government 
took  stringent  measures  against  the  princes  of  houses 
formerly  ruling  in  France.  It  was  intrusted  with  discre- 
tionary power  to  remove  them  all  from  the  country,  and 
was  furthermore  ordered  to  expel  all  claimants  of  the  throne 
and  their  heirs.  Therefore  a  presidential  decree  banished 
Prince  Napoleon  and  his  son.  Prince  Victor,  and  the  Count 
of  Paris  with  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  The  names 
of  all  the  members  of  the  Bonaparte  and  Orleans  families 
were  stricken  from  the  army  roll. 

On  the  expiration  of  his  term  M.  Grevy  had  been  re- 
elected president.  His  son-in-law,  M.  Wilson,  became  im- 
plicated in  scandals  arising  over  the  sale  of  decorations 
and  of  appointments  in  the  army.      M.   Grevy  unwisely 


44  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1887-1891, 

interfered  to  protect  his  son-in-law  from  justice.  Though 
not  accused  of  complicity  in  the  crime,  he  was  forced  by 
the  indignant  Chambers  to  resign  (December  2,  1887),  He 
was  then  eighty  years  of  age. 

Presidency  of  M.  Sadi  Carnot  (1887-1894),  —The  choice 
of  the  Chambers  fell  upon  a  worthy  and  illustrious  candi- 
date, M.  Sadi  Carnot.  He  was  a  grandson  of  that  Carnot 
who,  in  1793  during  the  Eevolution,  had  proved  himself 
unequalled  as  a  military  organizer  and  was  called  by  his 
countrymen  "the  genius  of  victory." 

The  most  prominent  figure  at  that  time  in  Prance  was 
General  Boulanger.  His  theatrical  bearing  and  his  sup- 
posed, but  unproven,  abilities  made  him  a  popular  idol. 
For  insubordination  in  the  army  he  had  been  placed  upon 
the  retired  list,  A  duel,  in  which  he  was  worsted  by  a 
civilian,  M.  Floquet,  the  prime  minister,  did  not  damage 
his  prestige.  Elected  deputy  by  enormous  majorities,  first 
in  the  department  of  Dordogne,  and  then  in  the  department 
of  Nord,  he  resigned  his  seat,  but  was  then  triumphantly 
elected  on  one  and  the  same  day  in  the  departments  of 
Nord,  Charente-Inferieure,  and  the  Somme.  His  political 
platform  of  revision  of  the  constitution  and  dissolution  of 
the  Chamber  enabled  him  to  draw  into  his  following  a.11  the 
disaffected  and  discontented  of  whatever  party  or  class. 
The  government  was  alarmed  at  his  intrigues  and  prosecuted 
him  before  the  High  Court  of  Justice,  Struck  with  sudden 
panic  he  did  not  present  himself  for  trial,  but  fled  to  Great 
Britain,  The  trial  proceeded  in  his  absence.  It  was  proved 
that  he  had  received  3,000,000  francs  from  the  Orleanist 
Duchess  d'Uzes  to  further  his  political  machinations.  His 
popularity  at  once  vanished.  Finally  (September  30, 
1891),  he  committed  suicide  on  the  grave  of  Madame  de 
Bonnemain,  who  had  followed  him  in  his  exile  and  sup- 
ported him  by  her  bounty  for  two  years. 

Despite  the  fiasco  of  General  Boulanger  an  urgent  de- 
mand continued  for  a  revision  of  the  constitution.  The 
revision  bill  introduced  by  M,  Floquet  was  received  coldly 
in  the  Chamber,  whereupon  he  resigned,  and  M,  Tirard,  an 
economist,  formed  a  new  ministry.  Scrutin  d'arrondisse- 
ment  had  previously  been  restored,  the  government  consid- 
ering the  scrutin  de  liste  more  favorable  to  the  scheme  of 
political  adventurers.  Also  a  law  was  passed  forbidding  a 
citizen  to  present  himself  as  a  candidate  for  more  than  one 


A.D.  1890-1892.]       THE  THIRD  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  45 

seat  in  the  Chamber.  After  long  debate  a  new  army  bill 
was  adopted,  making  three  years'  service  requisite  instead 
of  five,  and  compelling  students  and  priests  to  serve  one 
year. 

The  ministry  of  M.  Tirard  and  of  his  successor,  M.  de 
Freycinet,  devoted  special  attention  to  industrial  questions. 
The  system  of  free  trade  which  had  prevailed  in  France 
since  1860  was  succeeded  by  high  duties  on  nearly  all  im- 
ports. A  special  tariff  with  far  lower  rates  was  drawn  up 
to  secure  reciprocity  treaties  with  foreign  countries. 
Great  discontent  prevailed  among  the  working  classes. 
The  annual  May-day  labor  demonstrations  had  become  a 
menace  to  law  and  order.  Frequent  strikes  produced  armed 
conflicts  between  the  soldiers  and  the  mob.  To  appease 
the  agitation  the  government  founded  a  Labor  Bureau  and 
introduced  bills  for  the  protection  of  women  and  children 
in  the  factories. 

So  far  the  Catholic  Church  and  the  Republic  had  been 
generally  regarded  as  hostile  to  each  other.  This  feeling 
was  an  injury  to  both.  In  1890  an  illustrious  prelate, 
Cardinal  Lavigerie,  archbishop  of  Algiers,  published  a 
letter,  declaring  it  the  true  policy  of  the  Catholic  Church 
to  support  the  Republic.  At  once  the  cardinal  was  bitterly 
denounced  by  the  reactionary  section  of  his  coreligionists, 
but  his  policy  was  warmly  commended  by  Pope  Leo  XIII. 
In  consequence  there  have  been  far  more  amicable  relations 
between  the  church  and  state,  and  the  prevailing  system 
has  received  the  adhesion  of  many  who  had  formerly 
opposed  it. 

In  1892  France  was  convulsed  by  the  Panama  scandal. 
Twelve  years  before  M.  de  Lesseps,  to  whom  the  Suez  Canal 
was  due,  organized  the  Panama  Canal  Company  to  construct 
a  ship  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  His  immense 
reputation  was  supposed  to  guarantee  success.  Shares  were 
eagerly  subscribed  for,  especially  by  the  laboring  classes, 
and  the  government  also  advanced  large  loans.  In  1889, 
after  $280,000,000  had  been  expended  and  small  progress 
made,  the  company  dissolved.  Thousands  of  subscribers 
were  ruined.  The  government  prosecuted  the  directors  for 
misappropriation  of  funds  and  for  bribery  of  public  officials. 
M.  Baihaut,  minister  of  public  works  in  1886,  was  proved 
to  have  received  375,000  francs,  though  he  demanded 
1,000,000.     Other  deputies  and  state  officers  were  convicted 


46  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1893-1894. 

and  sentenced.  M.  de  Lesseps  himself,  though  on  his 
death-bed,  was  condemned  to  five  years'  imprisonment  and 
to  pay  a  fine  of  5000  francs.  During  the  investigation  one 
cabinet  toppled  after  another.  In  April,  1893,  as  the  storm 
abated,  M.  Dupuy  formed  a  ministry.  While  the  French 
were  punishing  civilized  criminals  at  home,  they  were  car- 
rying on  a  tedious  war  in  Africa  against  the  barbarous  king 
of  Dahomey.  Finally,  his  capital,  Ahomey,  was  taken, 
and  in  1894  his  territories  made  a  French  protectorate. 

The  elections  of  1893  revealed  the  marked  progress  of 
socialism,  and  a  corresponding  decrease  of  conservatism 
among  the  voters.  When  M.  Dupuy  proposed  an  anti- 
socialistic  programme  to  the  newly  elected  Chamber,  he 
could  not  obtain  a  vote  of  confidence.  M.  Casimir-Perier 
was  invited  to  form  a  cabinet.  Anarchism  seemed  to  ter- 
rorize Paris  and  France.  Many  magistrates  were  attacked. 
In  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  an  anarchist,  not  a  member, 
hurled  a  bomb  at  the  president.  Though  laws  were  enacted 
against  the  propagation  of  anarchistic  doctrines,  "there 
was  an  epidemic  of  bombs  in  Paris  in  the  spring  of  1894." 

On  June  24,  1894,  President  Carnot  paid  a  formal  visit  to 
Lyons.  As  he  rode  through  the  streets  an  Italian  rushed 
before  him  and  stabbed  him,  shouting,  "  Long  live  anarchy !  " 
The  illustrious  victim  died  that  same  night. 

He  was  universally  mourned.  His  dignified  and  courtly 
manners,  no  less  than  his  spotless  character,  had  com- 
manded the  admiration  of  his  countrymen.  The  perfection 
of  address,  with  which  he  had  met  the  Assembly  at  Ver- 
sailles on  May  5,  1889,  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
convocation  of  the  States  General,  and  had  inaugurated  the 
International  Exposition  at  Paris  the  following  day,  indi- 
cated the  ideal  of  a  French  chief  magistrate.  But  it  was  as 
a  statesman-president,  lifted  above  the  burning  but  puerile 
contentions  of  party  politics,  that  he  enhanced  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  French  Eepublic  and  won  the  respect  of  the 
world. 

Presidency  of  M.  Casimir-Perier  (1894). — M.  Casimir- 
Perier,  the  candidate  of  the  moderate  republicans,  was 
elected  by  the  Senate  and  Chamber  three  days  after  the 
assassination  of  M.  Carnot.  But  he  was  passionately 
hated  by  the  socialists  and  radicals,  who  employed  every 
weapon  to  break  down  his  authority.  Corruption  in  con- 
nection with  certain  railway  franchises  was  proved  against 


A.D.  1895-1897.]       THE   THIRD  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  47 

some  of  his  friends,  and  this  compelled  the  Cabinet  to 
retire.  Finding  it  difficult  to  form  a  new  ministry  and  dis- 
heartened by  sudden  unpopularity,  M.  Casimir-Perier 
resigned  the  presidency. 

Presidency  of  M.  Faure  (1895-  ), — The  three  candi- 
dates were  M.  Brisson,  President  of  the  Chamber,  M.  Wal- 
deck-Rousseau  and  M.  Felix  Faure.  The  latter  was  elected 
(January  17).  His  occupancy  of  the  chair  has  been  marked 
by  shrewdness  and  tact.  During  a  tour  through  southeast- 
ern France  in  1897  his  democratic  ways  and  close  attention 
to  whatever  had  to  do  with  the  army  increased  his  popu- 
larity. An  intimate  alliance  with  Eussia  has  of  late  years 
been  greatly  desired  by  the  French,  who  regarded  them- 
selves as  otherwise  politically  isolated  in  Europe.  They 
were  much  gratified,  when  at  the  opening  of  the  Baltic 
Canal  in  1895,  the  Russian  and  French  fleets  in  company 
entered  the  harbor  of  Kiel  and  when  General  Dragomanoff 
and  the  Russian  ambassador  attended  the  manoeuvres  of 
five  army  corps,  numbering  more  than  120,000  men,  in 
eastern  France.  Enthusiasm  reached  its  limit  on  October 
5,  1896,  when  the  Tsar  and  Tsarina  reviewed  the  French 
fleet  off  Cherbourg.  Afterwards  their  majesties  visited 
Paris,  and  the  capital  abandoned  itself  to  festivities  for 
three  days.  In  August,  1897,  President  Faure  returned 
the  visit  of  his  imperial  guests,  and  was  magnificently 
entertained.  Afterwards  he  received  such  an  ovation  in 
France  as  is  rarely  extended  a  conqueror. 

His  first  prime  minister,  M.  Ribot,  was  replaced  (Octo- 
ber 30,  1895)  by  M.  Bourgeois,  and  France  had  for  the  first 
time  a  cabinet  composed  wholly  of  radicals.  Then  the 
newspaper,  La  France,  raked  over  again  the  embers  of  the 
Panama  scandal,  publishing  the  names  of  104  members  of 
the  Chamber  belonging  to  different  parties,  who,  it  asserted, 
had  received  bribes  from  the  Panama  Canal  Company. 
There  was  a  furious  stir  and  further  investigation  was 
ordered,  but  little  came  of  it.  Another  scandal,  as  to  the 
concession  of  phosphate  lands  in  Algeria,  also  made  much 
noise.  The  socialists  in  the  two  Houses  and  all  over  the 
country  redoubled  their  activity.  They  determined,  on 
the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  communist  Blanqui,  to 
make  a  demonstration  at  his  grave  in  the  cemetery  of  Pere 
la  Chaise,  but  it  was  broken  up  by  the  police  and  their  red 
flags  confiscated.     For  months  the  Senate  and  House  were 


48  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1894-1898. 

at  variance  over  questions  of  taxation,  over  the  appropria- 
tion for  the  International  Exposition  of  1900  and  the  policy 
of  the  government  in  Madagascar.  M.  Bourgeois  gave  way 
to  M.  Meline  as  prime  minister,  who  formed  the  thirty- 
fourth  cabinet  which  had  administered  affairs  since  the 
resignation  of  M.  Thiers  in  1873. 

During  the  last  two  years  much  progress  has  been  made 
in  reconciling  moderate  republicanism  and  the  Catholic 
Church.  On  the  other  hand,  the  antagonism  to  the  Jews 
has  permeated  almost  all  classes.  The  socialists  started 
the  movement,  denouncing  them  as  holders  of  property; 
but  the  aversion  now  shown  them  in  France  is  based  upon 
religion  and  race.  The  Dreyfus  case  furnishes  a  deplorable 
example.  Captain  Dreyfus,  one  of  the  few  Jewish  officers 
in  the  army,  was  arrested  in  1894  on  a  charge  of  selling 
military  plans  to  foreigners.  He  was  tried  by  secret  court- 
martial.  Incriminatory  documents  were  shown  the  judges, 
which  neither  he  nor  his  counsel  was  permitted  to  see. 
He  was  declared  guilty  and  sentenced  to  transportation  for 
life.  .  It  is  commonly  believed  that  he  was  denied  a  fair 
trial  because  a  Jew,  and  that  on  a  fair  trial  his  innocence 
would  be  made  clear.  When  the  famous  novelist  Zola 
made  an  effort  to  have  the  facts  brought  out,  every  obstacle 
was  put  in  the  way  by  the  populace  and  courts.  M.  Zola 
was  twice  brought  to  trial  on  charge  of  libelling  the  gov- 
ernment. Though  he  was  twice  condemned,  the  agitation 
increased  rather  than  diminished. 

The  question  took  on  an  international  phase.  The  Ger- 
man government  had  been  accused  of  complicity  in  the  sup- 
posed revelations  of  Captain  Dreyfus.  It  branded  these 
accusations  as  falsehoods  and  demanded  that  they  be  offi- 
cially withdrawn.  Careful  investigation  (August,  1898) 
proved  the  truth  of  the  German  statement  and  made  evi- 
dent that  at  least  a  portion  of  the  papers  employed  to 
convict  Captain  Dreyfus  were  forgeries.  The  chief  of  the 
French  intelligence  bureau  confessed  a  share  in  these  for- 
geries and  committed  suicide.  The  chief  of  the  staff,  Gen- 
eral Boisdeffre,  and  some  of  the  highest  officials  resigned. 
The  government  now  faces  a  terrible  dilemma.  If  it  re- 
vises the  trial  of  Captain  Dreyfus  and  his  innocence  is 
demonstrated,  popular  confidence  in  the  management  of  the 
army  will  be  shaken  and  perhaps  destroyed.     If  it  does  not 


A.D.  1898.]  THE  THIRD  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  49 

revise  that  trial,  it  rests  under  the  imputation  of  denying 
opportunity  for  justice  to  a  cruelly  accused  man. 

France  in  1898.  —  The  Third  French  Republic  is  now 
completing  its  twenty-eighth  year.  It  has  thus  already 
lasted  longer  than  any  other  form  of  government  —  empire, 
absolute  or  limited  monarchy  —  which  has  arisen  in  France 
since  1789.  Though  differing  in  many  respects,  both  as 
to  theory  and  practice,  from  American  ideas  of  republican- 
ism, it  nevertheless  appears  to  be  the  system  most  appro- 
priate to  the  genius  of  French  character  and  most  acceptable 
to  the  French  people.  The  French  have  not  long  centuries 
of  self-government  behind  them,  and  for  generations  a 
French  republic  must  be  a  trial  of  experiments.  This 
Republic  has  reorganized  an  effete  and  shattered  military 
system  and  has  rendered  the  French  army  to-day  one  of  the 
most  powerful  militant  forces  in  Europe.  It  has  reorgan- 
ized a  defective  system  of  instruction  and  developed  and 
popularized  both  lower  and  higher  education.  Though 
attended  more  than  once  with  corruption  and  scandal  in 
high  places,  it  has  surpassed  both  the  empire  and  the  mon- 
archy in  official  purity  and  honesty,  and  under  it  the  public 
conscience  has  become  more  enlightened  and  hence  more 
sensitive. 

At  the  same  time  in  few  preceding  periods  of  twenty -eight 
years  has  French  influence  counted  so  little  among  the 
nations.  The  Franco-Prussian  War  left  France  politically 
effaced.  Her  ablest  foreign  ministers,  like  M.  Hanotaux, 
when  dealing  with  the  Armenian,  Cretan  and  Greek  ques- 
tions, have  been  able  to  do  nothing  more  than  follow  in 
the  wake  of  the  great  Powers. 

Since  1824  every  French  ruler  —  Charles  X,  Louis  Phi- 
lippe, Napoleon  III,  Thiers,  MacMahon,  Grevy,  Carnot, 
Casimir-Perier  —  has  been  driven  from  his  place  by  revolu- 
tion or  assassination  or  the  overwhelming  force  of  hostile 
public  opinion.  It  may  be  so  eventually  with  M.  Faure. 
But,  while  his  three  and  a  half  years  of  presidency  offer  little 
as  yet  of  permanent  interest  or  importance,  he  certainly 
has  consolidated  the  Republic  and  brought  Frenchmen  nearer 
each  other. 


50  COI^TEMFOEARY  HISTORY 


VII 

THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE 
(1871-1898) 

The  Imperial  Constitution.  —  Tlie  Constitution  was  pro- 
mvilgated  on  April  16,  1871,  in  the  name  of  the  king  of 
Prussia,  as  head  of  the  North  German  Confederation,  of 
the  kings  of  Bavaria  and  Wiirtemberg  and  the  Grand  Dukes 
of  Baden  and  Hesse.  It  was  thus  granted  by  live  accordant 
princes  and  not  wrought  out  in  a  constitutional  assembly. 
It  formed  the  code  of  twenty-six  distinct  states  now  all 
united  under  the  iron  rule  of  the  Hohenzollerns  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  same  rigid  discipline  in  war  and  diplomacy. 
Surfeited  with  such  military  glory  as  has  been  seldom 
achieved,  the  Germans,  content  for  a  time  to  forget  their 
old  aspirations  after  liberty,  hailed  the  new  system  with 
transport.  Hitherto  one  had  been  a  Prussian,  Bavarian, 
Hessian  subject.  Now  the  local  name  was  obscured  by  the 
larger  title  of  German  subject.  A  man's  civil  rights  were 
no  longer  local,  but  equal  and  similar  all  over  the  empire. 
The  former  German  Empire  was  centrifugal,  each  emperor 
being  chosen  by  election  and  each  state  retaining  its  feudal 
laws.  The  modern  German  Empire  is  centripetal,  heredity 
in  the  Prussian  house  transmitting  the  succession  with  the 
precision  of  a  well-oiled  machine,  and  the  imperial  Constitu- 
tion paramount  to  all  customs  and  enactments  of  the  various 
states.  The  former  Empire  of  Germany  was  a  vague  politi- 
cal expression.  The  modern  German  Empire  is  a  definite 
political  fact. 

The  legislative  authority  was  exercised  by  a  Bundesrath 
or  Federal  Council,  composed  of  representatives  of  the  vas- 
sal princes  of  the  empire,  and  by  a  Reichstag,  or  Imperial 
Diet,  composed  of  deputies  elected  by  the  people.  There 
was  one  deputy  for  each  100,000  inhabitants,  and  he  held 
his  seat  three  years.  In  the  Federal  Council  Prussia  had 
only  seventeen  votes  out  of  fifty-eight.      The  consent  of 


A.D.  1871-1876.]  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE  51 

the  Bundesrath  was  necessary  to  declare  war,  except  in  case 
of  the  territory  being  suddenly  invaded.  Whenever  one- 
third  of  its  members  desired,  it  was  to  be  convoked  in 
special  session.  All  foreign  policy  was  to  be  directed  by 
the  imperial  chancellor.  Berlin  was  in  general  the  centre 
of  imperial  government  and  legislation,  but  the  seat  of  the 
Imperial  Tribunal  was  at  Leipzig,  and  the  accountant-gen- 
eral's office  at  Potsdam.  The  army  on  a  peace  footing 
numbered  more  than  400,000  men.  Its  military  organiza- 
tion, in  awful  efficiency  hitherto  unapproached  in  human 
history,  enabled  it  in  case  of  war  to  put  into  the  field 
1,456,677  men,  perfectly  disciplined  and  equipped. 

The  Alliance  of  the  Three  Emperors  (1871-1876).— All 
Europe  might  well  be  alarmed  for  its  own  safety  after  the 
victories  and  consolidation  of  Germany.  There  was  no 
continental  power,  except  Russia,  which  was  not  certain  to 
go  down  before  the  new  state  in  case  of  war.  Not  only 
smaller  neighboring  states  but  France  herself  trembled 
before  the  armed  colossus  which  had  arisen  among  them. 
Austria  had  nothing  to  hope  except  by  peace.  She  mani- 
fested a  strong  desire  to  be  on  amicable  terms  with  the  new 
Power  which  had  thrust  her  out  of  Germany.  The  Tsar 
Alexander  II,  a  man  of  peace,  was  the  friend  and  admirer 
of  the  Emperor  William.  The  three  emperors,  Alex- 
ander II,  William  I  and  Francis  Joseph  drew  together  in  a 
friendly  understanding,  which  is  called  the  Alliance  of  the 
Three  Emperors.  It  was  only  when  Russia  drew  her  sword 
in  1877  to  rescue  her  coreligionists,  tlie  Bulgarians,  from 
further  outrages  at  the  hands  of  the  Ottomans,  that  this 
friendly  understanding  was  disturbed.  It  is  to  be  said 
however  that  imperial  Germany,  while  prepared  for  any 
eventuality,  has  attacked  none  and  has  pursued  a  policy  of 
peace  with  all. 

Organization  of  Alsace-Lorraine  (1871) .  —  The  inhabitants 
of  the  annexed  territory,  though  German  in  origin,  were 
intensely  French  in  sentiment.  With  indescribable  sorrow 
they  saw  themselves  transferred  to  Germany.  Many  emi- 
grated rather  than  submit  to  foreign  domination,  and  a  large 
number  abandoned  their  homes  and  removed  to  France. 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  were  at  first  governed  as  an  imperial 
province  under  military  dictatorship  and  dependent  upon 
the  imperial  chancellor.  Allowed  representation  in  the 
Reichstag   in   1874,    their   fifteen   deputies    unitedly   and 


52  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1873-1887. 

"boldly  protested  against  their  annexation  by  force  and 
then  solemnly  withdrew.  Bismarck  believed  that  by 
shrewdly  permitting  them  a  degree  of  home  rule  their  op- 
position might  be  gradually  undermined.  They  were 
granted  a  Provincial  Committee  to  sit  at  Strasburg  and 
discuss  all  bills,  which  were  afterwards  submitted  to  the 
Eeichstag,  concerning  their  domestic  and  fiscal  affairs. 
Gradually  the  functions  of  this  committee  were  enlarged. 
In  1879  the  government  of  the  province  was  removed  from 
the  direction  of  the  chancellor  and  intrusted  to  a  statthalter 
or  imperial  envoy  to  reside  at  Strasburg.  Marshal  Man- 
teuffel,  a  distinguished  soldier  and  statesman,  was  appointed 
to  the  position.  By  mild  and  conciliatory  measures  he  did 
his  utmost  to  reconcile  the  people,  but  in  vain.  Their 
aversion  was  only  the  more  openly  expressed.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  policy  of  violent  repression.  The  chancellor, 
Caprivi,  declared  in  1890  that  the  attempt  to  foster  German 
feeling  having  failed,  nothing  was  left  but  to  dig  deeper 
the  ditch  which  separated  Alsace-Lorraine  from  France. 
Though  powerless  to  resist,  the  Alsace-Lorrainers  have 
become  no  less  sullen  and  determined  in  their  anti-German 
sentiments. 

The  Culturkampf  (1873-1887).  — Bismarck,  now  a  prince 
and  chancellor  of  the  empire,  had  met  nothing  but  success. 
In  the  Culturkampf,  or  civilization  fight,  he  undertook  a 
task  beyond  his  powers,  in  which  he  was  to  encounter  his 
great  political  defeat.  He  had  unified  Germany  by  merg- 
ing it  under  one  central  power.  The  Catholic  Church  in 
Prussia,  as  well  as  all  other  churches,  must  pass  through 
the  same  process  of  centralization  and  be  merged  in  and 
made  subordinate  to  the  state.  In  1873  the  Prussian  min- 
ister of  public  worship,  Dr.  Falk,  introduced  and  succeeded 
in  passing  the  so-called  Palk  or  May  Laws.  Ostensibly 
these  laws  aimed  at  securing  liberty  to  the  laity,  a  national 
and  German  rather  than  an  ultramontane  training  to  the 
clergy  and  protection  for  the  inferior  clergy  against  their 
superiors.  They  provided  that  all  theological  seminaries 
should  be  controlled  by  the  state,  that  the  state  should 
examine  all  candidates  for  the  priesthood  and  should  fur- 
thermore have  the  right  to  approve  or  reject  all  ecclesias- 
tical appointments.  Pope  Pius  IX  remonstrated  in  an 
urgent  letter  to  the  emperor.  The  Catholic  bishops  collec- 
tively declared  they  could  not  obey  these  laws.     But  they 


A.D.  1878-1890.]  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE  53 

were  none  the  less  vigorously  enforced  by  fine,  imprison- 
ments and  exile.  It  was  religious  persecution  on  an  enor- 
mous scale  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Within  eight  years'  time  the  parishes  of  more  than  one-fifth 
of  the  8500  Catholic  priests  in  Prussia  were  vacant,  and  no 
successors  could  be  appointed.  The  perfect  union  of  the 
Catholic  clergy  and  laity  with  no  weapon  but  passive  resist- 
ance won  the  victory  in  the  end.  The  May  Laws  were  sus- 
pended in  1881  and  later  on  practically  repealed.  After  1887 
all  state  interference  in  the  administration  of  the  church 
and  in  the  education  of  the  priesthood  was  wholly  abandoned. 

Economic  Policy  (1878-1890).  —  Up  to  1848  the  Zollver- 
ein  had  favored  a  protective  policy.  Afterwards  in  the 
sixties  had  followed  a  system  of  reciprocity  treaties  with 
France,  Austria,  Great  Britain,  Italy  and  other  countries 
showing  a  marked  tendency  toward  free  trade.  The  national 
liberals  advocated  abolition  of  all  duties  on  raw  materials, 
a  policy  supposed  to  enjoy  the  approval  of  Prince  Bismarck. 
But  in  December,  1878,  the  chancellor  sent  a  communica- 
tion to  the  Federal  Council,  wherein  he  condemned  the 
existing  policy  and  advocated  higher  rates  as  a  means  to 
increase  the  revenues  of  the  state.  His  will  was  law.  A 
new  tariff  was  introduced  and  passed.  It  placed  heavy 
duties  on  raw  materials  and  considerably  increased  the 
duties  on  textile  goods  and  other  articles  already  taxed. 
Subsequently,  until  his  fall  in  1890,  the  tariff  was  forced 
higher  and  higher. 

The  Triple  Alliance  (1879-  ).— Only  the  principal 
facts  and  not  all  the  details  are  known  in  reference  to  the 
triple  alliance  of  Germany,  Austria  and  Italy.  Austria, 
after  the  Russo-Turkish  War  of  1877-1878,  whereby  she 
had  secured  Hertzegovina  and  Bosnia,  was  uneasy  on  the 
Russian  frontier.  Neither  Austria  nor  Russia  was  likely 
to  forget  the  part  the  former  had  played  in  the  Crimean 
War.  So  she  concluded  a  secret  treaty  with  Germany  in 
1879,  "an  alliance  for  peace  and  mutual  defence,"  in  case 
either  Power  should  be  attacked  by  Russia  or  by  some  state 
supported  by  Russia.  Italy,  without  reason  to  dread  attack, 
but  probably  desirous  of  imperial  fellowship  and  recog- 
nition, asked  to  be  admitted  to  this  alliance.  Meanwhile, 
from  1887  to  1890  another  secret  treaty  existed  between 
Germany  and  Russia  which  only  became  known  to  the  world 
by  the  revelations  of  Bismarck  in  1896. 


54  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1888-1896. 

Death  of  Emperor  Williani  I  (March  9,  1888).  —The  ab- 
solutist policy,  with  which  he  began  his  reign  as  king  of 
Prussia,  had  been  maintained  by  him  as  German  emperor 
and  won  a  magnificent  success.  The  astounding  growth  of 
the  socialist  party  was  demonstration  against  a  principle 
rather  than  against  a  man.  The  appreciation  of  his  great 
achievements  had  made  the  sovereign,  who  was  hated  and 
hooted  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  the  idol  of  his  people 
at  the  end.  His  simple  and  homely  ways,  his  blunt  sol- 
dierly bearing  and  his  chivalric  devotion  to  his  mother's 
memory  won  the  hearts  even  of  those  Germans  who  were 
the  most  hostile  to  his  political  principles.  His  death  at 
the  age  of  ninety-one  was  received  with  a  consternation 
of  grief.  Though  Bismarck  and  Moltke  outlived  him,  it 
was  an  anxious  question  in  the  minds  of  many  whether  the 
imperial  fabric  he  had  built  up  would  survive  his  departure. 

Frederick  I  (1888). — The  Crown  Prince  Frederick  suc- 
ceeded. He  had  made  a  splendid  record  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Austro-Prussian  and  Franco-Prussian  wars.  On  several 
occasions  he  had  shown  liberal  tendencies,  which  his  mar- 
riage with  Victoria,  crown  princess  of  Great  Britain  and 
eldest  daughter  of  Queen  Victoria,  was  supposed  to  fortify. 
He  had  even  protested  against  the  Army  bill  of  1862  and 
given  public  expression  of  his  dissent  from  a  subsequent 
despotic  action  of  the  government.  But  a  fatal  throat  dis- 
ease had  fastened  upon  him  before  his  accession.  It  was 
only  as  a  doomed  and  speechless  invalid  that  he  occupied 
the  throne.  His  three  months'  reign  is  memorable  for  his 
spirit  of  self-forgetfulness  and  devotion  to  duty. 

Reign  of  William  II  (1888-  ).— William  II  was 
twenty-nine  years  old  when  he  became  emperor.  His  first 
proclamation  was  addressed  to  the  army  and  navy,  and  he 
has  manifested  ever  since  an  almost  passionate  interest  in 
these  branches  of  the  public  service.  His  speech  on  open- 
ing the  Reichstag,  as  well  as  his  first  address  to  the  German 
people,  indicated  his  absolutist  policy.  Louis  XIV  him- 
self was  in  the  seventeenth  century  not  a  more  convinced 
impersonification  of  the  divine  right  of  kings.  "The 
supreme  guardian  of  law  and  order,"  he  regards  himself  as 
crowned  by  God,  as  the  anointed  elector  of  the  divine  will, 
and  as  entitled  to  the  unquestioning  obedience  of  his  sub- 
jects. A  wonderful  activity  or  restlessness  has  been  the 
most   prominent   characteristic   of   his   reign.      No   other 


A.D.  188&-1898.]  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE  65 

European  sovereign  has  been  such  a  constant  traveller  to 
foreign  lands.  No  other  European  sovereign  has  so  inter- 
fered not  only  in  all  branches  of  administration,  but  in  all 
matters  relating  to  public,  social  and  religious  life.  A 
ready  speaker,  there  is  hardly  a  topic  left  untouched  in  his 
speeches,  and  his  speeches  have  been  delivered  on  all  occa- 
sions. Always  the  dominant  sentiment,  whatever  the 
theme,  is  the  doctrine  of  autocracy. 

The  first  year  of  his  reign  was  marked  by  an  event  of 
historic  significance.  In  October,  1888,  the  free  cities  of 
Hamburg  and  Bremen,  whose  right  to  remain  free  ports  had 
been  ratified  in  the  imperial  constitution  of  1871,  renounced 
their  special  and  ancient  privileges  and  completely  merged 
themselves  in  the  common  Fatherland.  Great  pomp  at- 
tended the  ceremony.  The  emperor  came  in  person  to 
accept  their  patriotic  sacrifice.  Except  that  their  sover- 
eignty was  represented  in  the  Bundesrath  by  the  side  of 
that  of  princes,  the  last  vestige  of  the  Hanseatic  League 
had  disappeared. 

Between  the  veteran  chancellor,  who  had  controlled  the 
helm  for  almost  a  generation,  and  the  youthful  emperor, 
eager  to  exercise  his  power,  there  was  sure  to  be  friction. 
The  temper  of  Bismarck,  by  no  means  pliable,  had  not 
softened  with  success  and  age.  The  chief  of  the  staff,  the 
Count  of  Waldersee,  and  other  courtiers  fostered  the  grow- 
ing alienation.  The  chancellor  persisted  in  a  bill  which 
the  emperor  disapproved.  The  emperor  issued  a  decree  in 
a  sense  which  the  chancellor  had  always  opposed.  The 
chancellor  refused  to  repeat  a  certain  conversation,  although 
urged  to  do  so  by  the  emperor.  On  March  17,  1890,  came 
a  message  from  the  emperor  that  he  was  waiting  for  the 
chancellor's  resignation.  The  chancellor  refused  to  resign. 
Then  followed  a  direct  order  demanding  his  resignation. 
Bismarck  in  his  fall  did  not  manifest  the  self-control  he  had 
shown  in  his  powerful  days,  and  filled  Germany  with  his 
complaints.  It  was  his  mistake  to  believe  himself  still 
essential  to  the  state,  when  his  work  had  been  long  since 
done.  Yet  the  emperor  might  have  dealt  more  gently  with 
the  old  man,  to  whom  the  empire  owed  its  existence  and 
to  whom  he  himself  was  indebted  for  his  imperial  crown. 
In  1894  the  sovereign  and  the  subject  were  publicly  recon- 
ciled amid  universal  rejoicing,  and  the  latter  received  an 
ovation  from  all  classes  at  Berlin.     Afterwards  he  exercised 


56  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d,  1898. 

no  further  influence  upon  affairs,  but  quietly  resided  at  his 
castle  of  Friedrichsruhe  until  his  death  (July  30,  1898). 

A  work  of  immense  utility  was  officially  inaugurated  in 
1891.  This  was  the  Baltic  Canal.  Beginning  at  Holtenau 
on  the  Bay  of  Kiel,  it  joins  the  Elbe  fifteen  miles  from  its 
mouth.  Although  sixty-one  miles  in  length  it  requires  no 
locks.  By  means  of  this  stupendous  achievement  the  Ger- 
man navy  can  pass  from  the  Baltic  through  German  terri- 
tory to  the  North  Sea,  and  is  no  longer  compelled  to  make 
the  tortuous  and  dangerous  voyage  among  the  Danish  islands 
and  through  the  Cattegat  and  Skager  Rack. 

Since  1871  the  empire  has  engaged  in  no  foreign  war. 
But  not  for  a  moment  has  been  relaxed  the  policy  which 
renders  Germany,  and  hence  all  Europe,  a  camp  of  soldiers 
and  which  secures  only  the  anxieties  and  uncertainties  of 
an  armed  peace.  Because  of  her  strategic  position  and  the 
acknowledged  efficiency  of  her  troops,  until  Germany  dis- 
arms, none  of  the  other  great  Powers  can  afford  to  do  so. 
In  December,  1897,  her  standing  army  on  a  peace  establish- 
ment comprised  607,000  men.  Thus  the  most  vigorous  of 
her  population  were  withdrawn  from  the  ranks  of  producers. 
As  yet  she  only  begins  to  show  the  inevitably  destructive 
consequences  of  an  unnatural  militarism.  The  increase  of 
socialism,  which  does  not  so  much  menace  the  state  as  its 
prevailing  military  and  political  system,  here  finds  its 
cause.  German  socialism  is  the  appalling  protest  against 
inequality  and  government  by  the  sword.  Under  Wil- 
liam I,  Bismarck  endeavored  to  prevent  its  expansion  by 
restrictive  laws  and  employment  of  force.  William  II  has 
been  slightly  more  sagacious  because  more  mild  in  dealing 
with  it.  But  all  measures  to  suppress  it  must  be  abortive 
as  long  as  the  chief  causes  remain.  In  1872  there  were 
but  two  socialists  in  the  Reichstag.  There  were  forty-four 
in  1893  and  in  1898  fifty-four.  These  figures  give  an  unfair 
indication  of  their  strength,  inasmuch  as  in  the  cities  is 
the  hotbed  of  socialism,  and  the  cities  have  a  smaller  num- 
ber of  deputies  in  proportion  to  population  than  do  the  rural 
districts.  In  1874  the  socialists  polled  only  340,000  votes. 
In  1890  they  polled  1,427,000;  in  1893,  1,786,000;  and  in 
1898,  2,120,000.  No  other  political  party  could  muster 
so  many  adherents.  The  future  of  Germany  is  the  gravest 
problem  now  confronting  Europe. 


.^ 


V         '-c'     1S5 


-^c 


/TYROL      j„ji»^!i,. 


?• 


ITAI.Y 

IN  1359 

The  fijrures  indicate 

year  of  annexation  to 

Kingdom  of  Italy 


I  T.  V.  C,«w..ll  .V  Co 


Ei.ern.,>.l  l.j  Clio...  Ul,.i,ai.  ,V  Co..   N.   V. 


ITALY  57 


VIII 

ITALY 

Condition  of  the  Italian  Peninsula  in  1850.  —  The  present 

of  Italy  was  never  darker  and  her  outlook  upon  the  future 
more  discouraging  than  in  the  summer  of  1850.  The  revo- 
lutionary war  of  1848,  that  had  swept  over  the  country  from 
the  lagoons  of  Venice  to  the  extremities  of  Sicily,  had  re- 
ceded, and  left  nothing  but  defeat  and  disappointment 
behind. 

Italy  at  that  time  comprised  the  Kingdom  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  the  States  of  the  Church,  the  grand  duchy  of  Tus- 
cany, the  duchies  of  Parma  and  Modena,  the  Lombardo- 
Venetian  territory  and  the  kingdom  of  Piedmont  or  Sardinia. 
In  the  Two  Sicilies  Ferdinand  II,  no  longer  dreading  popu- 
lar outbreak,  had  suspended  the  constitution  which  he  had 
granted,  and  from  his  palace  in  Naples  worked  his  brutal 
and  bloody  will  without  check  or  hindrance.  In  the  States 
of  the  Church,  stretching  in  irregular  diagonal  across  Italy 
from  the  Tuscan  Sea  to  the  mouths  of  the  Po,  Pope  Pius 
IX  threw  the  influence  of  his  exalted  office  on  the  side  of 
despotism.  Under  the  influence  of  Cardinal  Antonelli  and 
the  protection  of  French  bayonets  he  ruled  as  tyrannically 
as  any  temporal  prince.  In  Tuscany  the  Archduke  Leo- 
pold II,  himself  the  grandson  of  an  Austrian  emperor, 
turned  his  back  upon  his  brief  compromise  with  the  par- 
tisans of  reform  and  maintained  an  Austrian  garrison  in 
Florence.  In  Parma  and  Modena  Charles  III  and  the  cruel 
Francis  V,  by  the  aid  of  Austrian  troops,  restored  an  abso- 
lute government  and  terrorized  over  opposition.  Lombardy 
and  Venetia,  placed  under  martial  law,  were  governed  from 
the  fortress  of  Verona  by  the  merciless  Radetzki  and  Hay- 
nau,  the  "hyena  of  Brescia." 

The  only  exception  to  the  universal  darkness  was  found 
in  Piedmont.  In  that  tiny  country  of  4,000,000  inhab- 
itants, the  "Fundamental  Statute,"  a  sort  of  charter,  was 
still  in  force.     It  possessed  a  dynasty  of  its  own  and  a 


58  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1850-1856. 

national  flag  and  a  national  army.  Though  defeated,  it  had 
in  two  campaigns  dared  to  resist  Austria.  But  the  heroic 
Charles  Albert,  by  failure,  had  been  forced  to  abdicate  and 
die  in  exile,  leaving  his  throne  to  his  son,  Victor  Emmanuel. 
The  young  king  had  borne  himself  bravely  at  the  battle  of 
Novara.  But  his  queen  was  an  Austrian  archduchess,  he 
was  unpopular  with  his  subjects  and  his  abilities  were  a 
matter  of  doubt.  There  was  little  cohesion  or  sympathy 
between  the  four  territories  making  the  kingdom  of  Pied- 
mont or  Sardinia.  These  were  Piedmont  proper,  buttressed 
against  the  Alps  and  inhabited  by  a  brave  and  simple  people; 
southern  Liguria,  with  Genoa,  a  republican  centre,  ill  dis- 
posed to  the  dynasty;  Savoy,  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
Alps,  French  in  language  and  sentiment;  and  the  island  of 
Sardinia,  which  remained  apart  from  the  life  of  Europe. 
Yet  in  this  sparsely  populated,  ill-connected  country  the 
expulsion  of  the  Austrians  and  the  political  unification  of 
the  peninsula  were  preparing. 

Count  Cavour.  —  In  every  other  respect  no  two  men  are 
more  dissimilar  than  Prince  Bismarck  and  Count  Cavour, 
but  they  parallel  each  other  in  the  main  purpose  of  their 
lives  and  the  magnificence  of  its  accomplishment.  Cavour 
is  the  Italian  Bismarck.  Unlike  his  German  prototype  he 
did  not  live  to  see  his  work  complete,  but  he  set  in  motion 
those  forces  which  were  to  expel  Austria  from  Italy  as  Bis- 
marck expelled  her  from  Germany,  and  to  place  on  the  map 
a  kingdom  of  Italy  as  Bismarck  placed  there  a  German  Em- 
pire. Himself  a  less  spectacular  figure  and  moving  in  a 
more  contracted  arena,  he  does  not  so  centre  the  gaze  of 
mankind.  Yet  no  other  statesman  of  contemporary  times 
is  equally  worthy  to  be  placed  next  to  the  great  German. 

By  birth  an  aristocrat,  always  a  monarchist,  a  Catholic 
but  a  moderate,  Cavour  was  detested  by  the  extremists  of 
all  parties.  Prime  minister  in  1852,  he  welcomed  to  Pied- 
mont the  political  exiles  from  all  over  Italy,  and  thus  early 
caused  it  to  be  understood  that  in  his  little  country  was  the 
only  refuge  of  Italian  patriotism  and  liberty. 

Piedmont  in  the  Crimean  War  (1855-1856).  —When  the 
Crimean  War  broke  out,  Cavour  determined  that  Piedmont 
should  actively  participate  in  the  conflict.  Great  Britain, 
in  need  of  troops,  proposed  to  subsidize  the  Piedmontese. 
Cavour  offered  to  enter  the  Franco-British  alliance,  not  as 
a  mercenary,  but  as  an  equal.     His  proposal  to  maintain 


A.D.  185&-1859.]  ITALY  59 

an  army  of  15,000  men  in  the  Crimea  as  long  as  the  war 
lasted  was  gladly  accepted.  He  more  than  kept  his  word. 
At  the  decisive  battle  of  Tchernaya  the  discipline  of  his 
countrymen  and  the  accuracy  of  their  aim  provoked  admi- 
ration. The  timid  and  hesitating  course  of  Austria  during 
the  war  had  exasperated  France  and  Great  Britain.  When 
at  the  Congress  of  Paris  Cavour,  as  representative  of  Pied- 
mont, skilfully  drew  the  attention  of  the  plenipotentiaries 
to  the  evils  of  Austrian  rule  in  Italy  and  the  deplorable 
state  of  the  peninsula,  his  words  fell  upon  sympathetic  ears. 
Thus  the  Italian  question  was  definitely  posed.  It  could 
not  be  henceforth  forgotten  till  it  received  definite  solution. 

The  War  of  1859.  —  At  first  Cavour  had  counted  on  the 
active  assistance  of  Great  Britain.  Disappointed  in  his 
hopes,  he  made  overtures  to  Napoleon.  In  his  secret  inter- 
view with  Napoleon  at  Plombieres  (July,  1858),  the  con- 
ditions and  terms  of  alliance  between  France  and  Piedmont 
were  verbally  agreed  upon.  In  April,  1859,  Austria  made 
the  diplomatic  blunder  of  taking  the  aggressive  and  forcing 
on  the  war.  Victor  Emmanuel  appealed  to  his  compatriots 
of  the  centre  and  south.  For  years  secret  societies  had  ex- 
isted over  Italy,  united  under  the  mystic  symbol,  Verdi, 
the  initials  of  the  words  Vittorio  Emmanuele  Re  d' Italia. 
The  French  and  Piedmontese  victories  of  Montebello  and 
Magenta  inspired  them  to  courage  and  action.  Popular 
risings  in  Tuscany,  Parma  and  Modena  drove  out  the  dukes. 
The  Pomagna,  the  papal  territories  along  the  Adriatic,  like- 
wise took  fire  and  the  papal  officials  were  expelled.  The 
overwhelming  victory  of  Solferino  was  followed  by  the 
sudden  peace  of  Villafranca,  agreed  upon  by  Napoleon  and 
Francis  Joseph.  This  treaty  seemed  to  shatter  all  the 
hopes  of  Italian  union  and  independence. 

By  its  terms  Lombardy  was  to  be  united  to  Piedmont, 
and  Venetia,  still  under  the  rule  of  Austria,  was  to  be  made 
part  of  an  Italian  federation  under  the  presidency  of  the 
Pope.  This  petty  gain  was  trivial  compared  with  what 
Cavour  and  the  Italians  had  hoped.  The  Dukes  of  Tuscany 
and  Modena  were  to  return  to  their  states.  The  formidable 
quadrilateral  —  Peschiera,  Mantua,  Verona  and  Legnago  — 
was  retained  by  Austria.  Victor  Emmanuel  could  do  noth- 
ing but  accept  the  hard  conditions  as  far  as  he  himself  and 
his  country  were  concerned,  but  he  would  promise  nothing 
farther.     Cavour  was  broken-hearted.     Utterly  losing  his 


60  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1859-1860. 

self-control,  in  a  bitter  two  hours'  interview,  he  over- 
whelmed his  sovereign  with  reproaches  and  withdrew  from 
the  ministry.  The  definite  treaty  of  Zurich  (November  10) 
confirmed  the  decisions  of  Villafranca. 

Successful  Revolutions.  Victor  Emmanuel  and  Garibaldi 
(1859-1865). — The  king  took  iDOSsession  of  Lombardy. 
For  the  banished  dukes  to  regain  their  duchies  was  more 
difficult.  In  August  the  assemblies  of  Parma,  Modena  and 
Tuscany  declared  that  their  former  rulers  had  forfeited  all 
their  rights,  demanded  annexation  to  Piedmont  and  recog- 
nized Victor  Emmanuel  as  their  sovereign.  The  Eomagna 
did  the  same.  Plebiscites  by  almost  unanimous  votes  con- 
firmed these  acts.  The  son  of  Charles  Albert  had  become 
king  of  11,000,000  people.  In  January,  1860,  Cavour  again 
became  prime  minister. 

In  Naples  Prancis  II  had  succeeded  his  father,  Ferdi- 
nand II  of  evil  memory.  Deaf  to  the  counsels  of  the 
Prench  and  British  cabinets,  he  resolved  to  continue  the 
same  policy.  All  Sicily  rebelled.  Because  of  diplomatic 
pressure  from  abroad,  the  astute  Cavour  could  not  interfere 
or  accept  the  propositions  of  the  revolutionist  Mazzini,  but 
he  could  allow  others  to  act.  Garibaldi,  with  1000  resolute 
men,  hurried  from  Genoa  (May  5,  1860)  and  landed  at 
Marsala  in  Sicily.  He  was  not  a  statesman,  hardly  a  gen- 
eral, but  only  a  hero  who  rushed  on  in  his  red  shirt  sure 
that  others  would  follow  and  careless  whether  they  did  or 
not.  In  three  days  he  stormed  Palermo.  The  battle  of 
Milazzo  gave  him  Messina  and  the  whole  island  (July  20). 
He  crossed  the  strait  and  marched  on  Naples.  Prancis  II 
fled  from  his  capital  (September  6).  The  next  day  Gari- 
baldi entered  Naples  without  opposition  and  was  hailed  as 
a  liberator.  He  was  at  once  accepted  as  dictator  of  the 
Two  Sicilies. 

But  the  tempestuous  success  of  the  revolution  was  a 
danger  and  menace  to  Cavour.  Mazzini,  the  republicans  of 
the  south  and  even  Garibaldi  had  no  love  for  the  house  of 
Piedmont.  They  might  easily  become  its  foes.  Mean- 
while the  courts  of  Europe  held  Cavour  responsible  for  the 
whirlwind  that  was  unloosed.  The  government  of  every 
European  state  was  unfriendly  or  openly  hostile.  The 
storm  that  had  swept  Sicily  and  Naples  was  ready  to  burst 
on  Rome;  but  Rome  was  garrisoned  by  French  troops  and 
behind  them  was  the  threatening  form  of  Napoleon.     A 


A.D.  1860-1861.]  ITALY  61 

single  false  step  on  the  part  of  Cavour  might  ruin  all  that 
Italy  and  Piedmont  had  gained  in  twelve  anxious  years. 
Indecision  was  fatal.  Should  Cavour  yield  to  the  conserva- 
tive warnings  of  Europe,  or  should  he  now  without  reserve 
head  the  party  of  action?  There  could  be  no  compromise 
with  Garibaldi,  who  was  resolved  to  proclaim  Italian  inde- 
pendence from  the  top  of  the  Quirinal. 

The  prime  minister  invited  the  Pope  to  disband  his 
foreign  army.  When  Pius  IX  refused,  he  ordered  the  Pied- 
montese  generals  to  invade  the  papal  states  and  rescue  them 
from  despotism  and  anarchy.  After  a  brave  defence  by  the 
French  general,  De  Lamoriciere,  all  the  still  remaining 
papal  territory  on  the  Adriatic  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Piedmontese,  but  the  eternal  city  was  left  to  the  Pope.  In 
a  calm  and  sagacious  speech,  delivered  before  the  Parlia- 
ment, but  really  addressed  to  the  bar  of  Europe,  Cavour 
declared  that  he  submitted  the  question  of  Rome  and 
Venetia  to  the  arbitrament  of  time.  Francis  II  still  re- 
sisted feebly,  but  obstinately.  He  then  retained  only  a 
Sicilian  citadel  and  the  fortress  of  Gaeta.  A  plebiscite  in 
the  Two  Sicilies  and  in  the  papal  states  of  Umbria  and  the 
Marches  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  declared  for  imion 
with  emancipated  Italy  and  for  Victor  Emmanuel  as  king. 

The  monarch  and  the  dictator  held  their  formal  but 
simple  first  interview  near  Teano  (October  26).  The  Pied- 
montese troops  and  the  Garibaldian  volunteers  threw  them- 
selves into  each  other's  arms.  Victor  Emmanuel  and 
Garibaldi  galloped  to  meet  each  other.  As  they  embraced, 
the  armies  shouted,  "Long  live  Victor  Emmanuel!  "  leav- 
ing it  for  Garibaldi  to  add,  "  king  of  Italy ! " 

All  the  Italian  provinces,  except  Venetia  and  the  papal 
territory  on  the  Tuscan  Sea,  were  now  united  under  one 
flag.  The  tricolor  of  green,  white  and  red  sheltered  them 
all.  On  February  18,  1861,  the  first  national  parliament 
assembled  at  Turin  to  enact  laws  for  a  people  of  22,000,000 
souls.  Then  (June  6)  Cavour  died,  worn  out  by  labor  and 
success.  He  was  succeeded  by  Baron  Ricasoli,  whom  Si- 
gnor  Ratazzi  soon  replaced.  The  Roman  question  was  keep- 
ing the  kingdom  in  a  ferment.  Garibaldi  resolved  to  settle 
it  with  the  sword.  Refusing  to  submit  to  the  orders  of  the 
government,  with  a  band  of  Sicilian  volunteers  he  marched 
northward  through  Calabria.  Encountered  by  the  royal 
troops  at  Aspromonte,  his  followers  were  dispersed  and  he 


62  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1865-1870. 

himself  was  wounded  and  made  a  prisoner.  The  ignomini- 
ous necessity  of  tiring  upon  the  liberator  forced  the  liatazzi 
ministry  from  oiiice.  In  the  autumn  of  1865  tlie  capital 
was  removed  from  Turin  to  Florence. 

Alliance  with  Prussia  against  Austria  (1866).  — This  alli- 
ance was  equally  advantageous  to  Prussia  and  Italy. 
Thereby  Austria  was  compelled  to  divide  her  forces  and 
despatch  to  the  southwest  generals  and  troops  sorely  needed 
on  her  northern  frontier.  Italy  lost  rather  than  gained  in 
military  reputation  by  the  reverses  of  General  La  Marmora 
and  Admiral  Persano  at  Custozza  and  Lissa.  None  the 
less  her  assistance  had  inclined  the  scale  to  the  side  of 
Prussia.  She  well  deserved  her  reward  in  the  acquisition 
of  Venetia.  Another  almost  unanimous  plebiscite  and 
Victor  Emmanuel,  on  November  7,  entered  the  city  of  the 
doges  as  its  king. 

Rome  the  Capital  of  Italy  (1870) .  —  The  Italian  heart 
was  always  turning  to  Rome.  In  1866  Napoleon,  accord- 
ing to  his  promise,  withdrew  the  French  garrison,  but  the 
Italian  government  was  not  free  to  interfere  in  the  still  re- 
maining papal  possessions.  Garibaldi  could  not  curb  his 
impatience.  A  third  time  he  marched  an  army  upon 
Roman  territory.  In  deference  to  the  clerical  party  in 
France,  Napoleon  sent  an  expedition  to  support  the  Pope 
and  Garibaldi  was  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Mentana.  The 
French  prime  minister,  Rouher,  formally  declared,  "  Italy 
shall  never  enter  Rome." 

Again  protected  by  French  soldiers,  the  Pope  felt  himself 
secure,  and  assembled  the  Ecumenical  Council  (1869). 
Soon  came  upon  France  the  disasters  of  the  Franco-Prussian 
war,  and  she  was  forced  to  recall  every  arm  on  which  she 
could  rely.  Her  troops  quitted  Rome.  The  king,  with 
earnest  tenderness,  implored  the  Pope  to  recognize  the  in- 
evitable trend  of  events,  and,  while  relinquishing  his  tem- 
poral sovereignty,  to  resign  himself  to  that  independent 
and  exalted  position  which  the  Italians  desired  him  to 
occupy.  The  inflexible  pontiff  declared  he  would  yield 
only  to  compulsion.  The  Italian  forces  delayed  no  longer, 
but  occupied  the  city.  By  one  more  plebiscite,  this  time 
the  last,  the  life-work  of  the  dead  Cavour  received  its  coro- 
nation, and  the  peninsula,  reunited,  had  again  the  same 
capital  as  in  the  days  of  Caesar. 

The  Last  Years  of  Victor  Emmanuel  (1870-1878). —The 


A.D.  1870-1878.]  ITALY  63 

new  state  at  the  start  was  surrounded  by  peculiar  difficul- 
ties and  dangers.  Foremost  were  those  arising  from  the 
religious  question.  The  Pope  was  not  merely  a  dispos- 
sessed temporal  prince,  but  the  spiritual  head  of  Catholic 
Christendom.  He  was  bitterly  opposed  to  everything  in 
the  new  order.  He  would  tolerate  no  suggestions  of  com- 
promise. Against  the  excommunicated  government  of  Vic- 
tor Emmanuel  he  threw  the  whole  influence  of  the  Catholic 
priesthood  and  appealed  for  help  to  the  Catholic  powers  of 
Europe.  The  country  was  covered  with  monasteries  and 
churches,  which  had  absorbed  the  material  wealth,  while 
the  people  were  stricken  with  poverty.  To  touch  a  convent 
or  a  priest  was  denounced  as  sacrilege. 

In  the  enthusiasm  of  revolution  and  conflict  the  Italian 
provinces  had  come  together.  At  bottom  they  were  antago- 
nistic in  ideas,  customs,  history  and  local  prejudices. 
They  had  no  traditions  of  headship  or  union.  Distinct 
idioms  of  language  emphasized  their  separation.  How 
were  they  ever  to  be  moulded  into  one  people? 

The  military  system  of  Europe  laid  upon  Italy  a  heavy 
burden.  When  the  United  States  of  America  became  a 
fact,  they  could  dismiss  their  troops  to  civil  life,  because 
alone  upon  a  continent  and  protected  by  3000  miles  of 
ocean.  But  the  safety  and  the  very  existence  of  Italy  de- 
pended on  her  immediate  development  and  maintenance  of 
an  immense  standing  army.  The  latest  arrival  among  the 
nations  had  to  conform  herself  to  the  situation  as  she 
found  it. 

Ages  of  oppression  had  given  the  people  few  roads  or 
bridges  or  means  of  communication.  They  had  neither 
schools,  courts,  effective  police  nor  equitable  system  of 
raising  revenue.  Brigandage  was  a  profession  over  a  large 
part  of  the  territory.  Ignorant  and  lawless,  they  were 
generations  behind  the  civilized  world. 

The  king  and  his  advisers  applied  themselves  with  pa- 
tience and  good  sense  to  the  organization  of  the  kingdom. 
They  accomplished  much  in  every  department  of  adminis- 
tration, but  evils  which  had  been  growing  for  centuries 
could  not  be  radically  cured  in  a  single  reign. 

By  the  guarantee  law  of  May,  1871,  they  endeavored  to 
regulate  the  relations  of  the  papal  and  royal  courts.  They 
declared  the  person  of  the  sovereign  pontiff  inviolable, 
decreed  him  sovereign  honors  and  a  military  guard,  assigned 


64  CONTEMPOBARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  187&-1898. 

him  an  annual  income  of  3,225,000  francs,  the  possession 
of  the  Vatican,  of  St.  John  Lateranus  and  the  villa  of  Cas- 
tel-Gandolfo  and  their  dependencies.  They  carefully  left 
him  perfect  liberty  in  the  exercise  of  his  spiritual  functions, 
while  reaffirming  that  his  temporal  sovereignty  had  de- 
parted. But  the  Pope  was  willing  to  accept  nothing  from 
a  government  which  he  considered  irreligious  and  anti- 
Christian,  and  once  more  protested  solemnly  against  all  the 
measures  taken. 

Victor  Emmanuel  died  on  January  9,  1878,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-eight.  It  is  pleasant  to  remember  that  on  his  death- 
bed he  received  a  kindly  message  and  absolution  from  the 
Holy  Father,  who  in  that  supreme  hour  allowed  his  natural 
tenderness  as  a  man  to  triumph  over  his  rigid  dogmatism  as 
priest.  One  month  afterwards,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six, 
after  a  pontificate  of  thirty-one  years  —  the  longest  in  papal 
history  —  the  Pope  followed  the  monarch  to  the  tomb. 
The  conclave  of  cardinals,  on  February  10,  elected  Cardinal 
Pecci,  chamberlain  of  the  Sacred  College,  to  the  Holy  See. 

The  Reign  of  King  Humbert  (1878-  ).— This  year 
Italy  celebrates  the  twentieth  anniversary  of  his  accession. 
His  reign  presents  less  general  interest  than  his  father's. 
Its  electoral  struggles  have  been  waged  rather  upon  the  per- 
sonality of  leaders  —  Depretis,  Cairoli,  Crispi  —  than  upon 
party  platforms.  A  leading  question  was  that  of  alliances, 
whether  Italy  should  follow  France  or  Germany.  Gradu- 
ally the  centre  of  influence  has  shifted  from  the  north  to 
the  more  democratic  provinces  of  the  south.  Burdens  of 
taxation  to  further  colonial  projects  and  maintain  an  enor- 
mous army  and  powerful  navy  have  fallen  heavily  upon  an 
impoverished  people.  On  this  account  during  the  present 
year  disorders  in  the  chief  Italian  cities  have  broken  out. 
In  Milan  in  a  street  fight  in  May,  1898,  several  hundred 
persons  were  killed  and  over  1000  wounded.  Yet  there  has 
been  progress  in  the  tranquillization  of  the  country  and  in 
the  application  of  constitutional  government.  Specially 
has  there  been  a  remarkable  development  in  education. 

Italy  had  counted  upon  Tunis  as  a  future  acquisition,  a 
sort  of  colonial  counterpoise  to  the  neighboring  French 
province  of  Algeria.  But  in  1881  Tunis  was  seized  by  the 
French.  The  angry  Italians  were  powerless.  Indignation 
at  the  French  and  national  vanity  made  them  join  Germany 
and  Austria  in  the  Triple  Alliance,     They  sought  for  some 


A.D.  1889-1898.]  ITALY  65 

equivalent  for  Tuuis  and  believed  tliey  had  found  it  on  the 
western  shores  of  the  Red  Sea.  By  holding  Massowah  on 
that  sea,  they  imagined  that  all  the  trade  of  Abyssinia 
would  flow  through  their  hands.  It  was  gratifying  to  think 
of  sharing  with  the  other  great  Powers  in  the  spoils  of  Africa. 
Costly  wars  followed  witli  the  negus  of  Abyssinia,  but  they 
gained  the  colony  of  Eritrea  (1890),  South  Somali  (1889), 
the  Somali  coast  (1893)  and  Tigre  (1895).  Though  all 
Abyssinia  was  declared  an  Italian  protectorate  (1889)  the 
negus,  Menelek,  continued  his  resistance.  General  Bara- 
tieri  met  a  terrible  reverse  at  Amba  Alaghi  (1895).  Com- 
mandant Galliano  made  a  heroic  defence  at  Makalle,  but 
on  March  1,  1896,  General  Baratieri  was  crushed  by  the 
negus  at  Adowa,  losing  all  his  guns  and  one-third  of  his 
troops.  This  frightful  disaster  caused  the  fall  of  Crispi, 
who  had  been  prime  minister  since  1887.  Finally,  the 
humiliating  treaty  of  Adis  Abeba  (October  26,  1896)  closed 
the  ill-judged  and  ill-advised  expedition.  The  absolute 
independence  of  Abyssinia  was  recognized  and  almost  all 
the  Italian  conquests  restored. 

Italia  Irredenta.  —  All  ancient  Italy,  as  indicated  by 
geography  and  extending  southward  from  the  Alps,  had 
been  brought  under  one  sceptre.  Beyond  those  mountain 
barriers  or  inhabiting  the  islands  of  the  sea  were  people 
whose  language  was  Italian  and  who  were  claimed  as  be- 
longing to  the  Italian  family.  Such  were  Nice,  Savoy  and 
Corsica,  occupied  by  France,  Malta  by  Great  Britain,  and 
South  Tyrol,  Trieste  and  the  islands  and  shores  of  the 
northwestern  Adriatic  by  Austria.  To  these  territories  in 
common  the  name  of  Italia  Irredenta  or  "  not  emancipated 
Italy  "  is  applied.  To  repossess  or  acquire  them  is  the  am- 
bition of  to-day.  So  little  is  said  concerning  it  that  the  idea 
seems  to  slumber^  but  it  is  no  less  real  and  deep-seated. 


QQ  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY 


IX 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

Accession  of  Francis  Joseph  (1848). — The  reign  of 
Francis  Joseph  fills  the  history  of  Austria  during  the  last 
fifty  years.  A  youth  of  eighteen,  he  ascended  a  throne 
that  seemed  tottering  to  its  fall.  In  every  part  of  his  do- 
minions there  was  disorder  or  open  rebellion.  In  the 
proclamation  announcing  his  accession  he  declared,  "We 
hope  with  the  aid  of  God  and  in  concert  with  our  peoples 
to  succeed  in  reuniting  in  one  great  state  body  all  the 
countries  and  all  the  races  of  the  monarchy."  This  am- 
bition was  worthy  of  a  great  sovereign.  It  was  possible 
only  under  some  form  of  centralized  federation,  which, 
while  grouping  all  around  a  common  point,  left  individu- 
ality to  each.  It  was  a  programme  which  every  people 
under  the  monarchy  except  one  was  ready  to  ratify.  The 
one  dissident  and  opposing  member  in  the  body  politic  was 
the  German  minority.  Accustomed  to  rule,  it  would  not 
descend  to  a  plane  of  equality  with  the  other  races,  on 
whom  it  looked  with  the  contempt  of  a  superior.  And 
they,  proud  of  their  traditions  and  confident  in  their 
strength,  asked  not  for  favors,  but  for  rights.  As  a  result 
the  agitation  was  smothered  for  a  time  and  Austria  entered 
upon  bleak  years  of  pitiless  reaction. 

Austrian  Absolutism  (1850-1866).  —Letters  patent  from 
the  emperor  (January  1,  1852)  divided  the  different  prov- 
inces into  administrative  circles  and  curtailed  further  the 
meagre  powers  of  the  various  diets.  Hungary  was  ruled 
by  martial  law  until  1854.  The  attempt  was  made  to  Ger- 
manize all  Austrian  subjects.  The  German  language  was 
rendered  obligatory  in  the  civil  administration,  the  courts 
and  schools  of  the  Hungarians,  Servians,  Eoumanians, 
Croatians,  Slavonians  and  Bohemians.  For  a  Bohemian  to 
publish  a  newspaper  in  his  own  language  was  a  crime.  The 
press  was  silenced  and  jury  decisions  were  reversed  by 
superior  order. 


A.D.  1855-1860.]  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  67 

In  its  measures  of  repression  the  governinent  invoked 
the  powerful  cooperation  of  the  Catholic  Church.  The 
Austrian  bishops  had  declared  "that  sentiment  of  nation- 
ality was  a  relic  of  paganism;  that  difference  of  languages 
was  a  consequence  of  the  original  fall  of  man."  Hence  all 
were  to  be  Germanized !  The  concordat  of  1855  placed  all 
private  and  public  education  under  the  control  of  the 
bishops,  and  allowed  the  circulation  of  no  book  which  had 
met  ecclesiastical  censure.  It  gave  to  the  high  clergy  the 
right  to  imprison  and  inflict  corporal  penalties  on  whom 
they  pleased,  and  for  that  end  put  at  their  disposal  the 
governmental  police.  Prince  Schwartzenberg  had  died  in 
1852.  But  under  Alexander  Bach,  minister  of  the  interior 
and  negotiator  of  the  concordat,  the  dark  ages  settled  down 
upon  Austria. 

In  the  Crimean  War  Austria  willingly  played  an  ignoble 
part.  She  owed  to  the  Tsar  Nicholas  an  eternal  debt, 
because  he  had  rescued  her  in  the  Hungarian  revolution. 
But  she  dreaded  the  might  of  Russia  and  would  gladly  see 
her  crippled.  Moreover,  it  was  her  interest  to  uphold  the 
authority  of  the  Sultan  over  his  Christian  subjects.  Though 
ostensibly  on  the  side  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  her 
dilatory  tactics  and  irresolution  angered  the  allies.  When, 
by  the  alliance  of  France  and  Piedmont  in  1859,  Austria 
was  swept  out  of  Lombardy,  she  was  reaping  as  she  had 
sown.  Her  Bohemian  and  Hungarian  subjects  rejoiced  in 
her  reverses  at  Magenta  and  Solferino.  In  Bohemia  the 
peasants  said,  "  If  we  are  defeated,  we  shall  have  a  constitu- 
tion; if  we  are  victorious,  we  shall  have  the  Inquisition." 

The  emperor  had  grown  older  and  hence  stronger  and 
wiser.  He  dismissed  Bach  and  ventured  on  some  timid 
reforms  (1860).  Goluchowski,  a  Galician,  neither  German 
nor  Hungarian,  was  called  to  the  ministry  and  allowed  to 
elaborate  a  partial  charter.  The  Schmerling  ministry  was 
charged  with  its  application.  There  was  to  be  a  Chamber 
of  Nobles,  named  by  the  sovereign,  and  a  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties, named  by  the  provincial  Diets.  But  all  was  so  devised 
as  to  swamp  the  other  nationalities  under  the  preponderance 
of  the  Germans.  The  scheme  was  a  dismal  failure.  Vene- 
tia,  Hungary,  Transylvania  and  Croatia  refused  to  send 
their  representatives.  The  Hungarian  leader,  Deak,  planted 
himself  firmly  on  the  abrogated  Hungarian  constitution  of 
1848.     The  Hungarian  legists  asserted  that  Francis  Joseph 


6B  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1860-1866. 

was  not  legally  their  sovereign  as  he  had  never  come  to 
their  country  to  be  crowned.  The  emperor  paid  a  formal 
visit  to  Pesth.  He  dismissed  Schmerling  from  office  and 
replaced  him  by  Belcredi,  a  Moravian,  who  cared  far  less 
for  the  Germanization  of  the  empire.  Prague,  Pesth  and 
Lemberg  illuminated  as  for  victory.  In  Galicia  they  even 
dared  to  teach  the  Polish  language  in  the  schools.  Hun- 
gary awoke  to  new  life,  and  in  its  Diet  openly  demanded 
all  the  rights  and  privileges  which  the  Emperor  Ferdinand 
IV  had  granted. 

The  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy  and  Political  Reforms 
(1866).  —  The  Austro-Prussian  War,  with  its  catastrophe  of 
Sadowa,  was  in  the  end  a  blessing  to  Austria.  Like  Antaeus, 
she  rose  the  stronger  for  having  been  prostrated  upon  the 
ground.  Her  German  inhabitants,  as  arrogant  and  self- 
assertive  as  before,  remained  to  her,  but  her  internal  and 
foreign  policy  could  never  again  be  the  same.  She  was  no 
longer  a  German  state.  Even  the  loss  of  Venetia,  though 
a  humiliation,  increased  rather  than  diminished  her 
strength.  As  long  as  Austria  sought  her  centre  of  gravity 
outside  herself,  whether  in  Italy  or  Germany,  she  had 
defied  with  impunity  all  the  aspirations  of  her  subject 
races  and  had  scoffed  at  their  historic  rights.  Now  it  was 
forced  upon  the  consciousness  of  the  most  obtuse  that  she 
must  revolutionize  all  her  antecedent  policy  or  submit  to 
speedy  dissolution.  The  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  keenly 
realized  both  the  imminent  perils  and  the  rich  possibilities 
of  the  situation.  A  new  order  of  things  could  never  be 
brought  about  by  any  statesman  of  his  dominions,  identified 
as  was  each  of  them  with  some  grievance  or  faction.  With 
insight  akin  to  genius  he  discerned  the  man  for  the  hour. 
He  invited  a  foreigner  and  a  Protestant,  a  former  minister 
of  Saxony,  the  Count  von  Beust,  to  accept  the  chancellor- 
ship and  to  undertake  the  complete  reorganization  —  politi- 
cal, financial,  military  —  of  the  most  devotedly  Roman 
Catholic  and  hitherto  the  most  reactionary  empire  in 
Europe. 

The  new  chancellor  treated  at  once  with  the  Hungarians. 
The  terms  of  the  Ausgleich  or  agreement  with  Hungary 
were  submitted  by  a  committee  of  sixty-seven  members 
of  the  Magyar  Diet,  having  at  their  head  Francis  Deak, 
"the  Franklin  of  Hungary,"  the  ablest,  purest  and  most 
patriotic  of  her  sons.     Their  first  two  proposals  were,  that 


A.D.  1867.]  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  69 

the  emperor  should  recognize  the  independent  existence  of 
Hungary  by  giving  her  a  ministry  of  her  own  and  should 
himself  be  crowned  as  her  king.  Count  Julius  Andrassy, 
a  political  exile,  who  had  been  condemned  to  death  for  his 
share  in  the  revolution  of  1848,  was  appointed  Hungarian 
prime  minister  (February  18,  1867).  On  June  8  the  coro- 
nation of  Francis  Joseph  at  Pesth  as  king  of  Hungary  was 
celebrated  with  all  the  ancient  ceremony  and  pomp. 
Twenty  days  later  he  ratified  the  Ausgleich.  The  Hun- 
garian crown  and  stripe  of  green  were  added  to  the  imperial 
flag,  which  ever  since  has  indicated  the  dual  monarchy. 

Every  feature  of  the  new  political  arrangement  bore  a 
dual  character.  The  Ausgleich  itself  afforded  a  modus 
Vivendi,  but  it  was  as  much  a  formula  of  separation  as  a  for- 
mula of  union.  It  was  like  the  hyphen  dividing  and  join- 
ing the  two  words  in  the  official  title,  Austro-Hungarian, 
by  which  the  new  empire  was  to  be  known.  Henceforth 
there  was  Cisleithania  or  "Austria,"  a  jumble  of  all  the 
states  and  provinces  supposed  to  be  on  the  west  of  the 
Leitha,  and  Transleithania  or  "  Hungary,"  another  jumble  of 
all  the  states  and  provinces  on  the  east  of  that  river.  In 
each  jumble  there  were  two  factors,  a  dominant  and  super- 
cilious minority  —  Magyar  in  Hungary,  German  in  Austria 

—  and  an  overborne  and  refractory  majority.  The  only 
cord  which  fastened  Cisleithania  and  Transleithania  to- 
gether was  possession  of  a  common  dynasty.  Let  that 
dynasty  become  extinct  and  at  once  they  would  fall  apart. 
Affairs  of  foreign  interest  but  common  to  the  two  —  foreign 
relations,  war,  marine,  imperial  finances  —  were  to  be  con- 
fided to  an  imperial  cabinet  responsible  to  the  parliaments 
of  the  two  states.  Affairs  of  domestic  common  interest — ■ 
coinage,  customs-duties,  military  service,  special  legislation 

—  were  controlled  by  delegates  of  the  two  parliaments, 
sixty  from  each  state,  to  meet  alternately  at  Vienna  and 
Pesth.  Nor  could  these  delegates  do  more  than  vote  a 
temporary  arrangement,  a  kind  of  contract,  for  ten  years. 

Such  a  system  was  an  anomaly,  a  political  experiment 
without  precedent.  Hungary  entered  upon  it  with  her 
revived  liberal  constitution  of  1848.  She  assumed  three- 
tenths  of  the  public  debt.  Austria  likewise  possessed  a 
liberal  constitution,  in  its  present  form  dating  from  1867, 
The  seventeen  Austrian  provinces  had  each  its  Landtag  or 
legislative  body/      Above  them  rose  the  Reichsrath,  con- 


70  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1867-1871. 

sisting  of  a  house  of  lords  and  house  of  203  deputies,  elected 
by  the  seventeen  Landtags. 

Hungary  was  appeased.  The  Austrian  Germans  were 
content,  but  a  cry  of  indignation  and  rage  went  up  from 
all  the  other  peoples  of  the  empire.  The  Slavs  had  re- 
ceived nothing  but  wordy  concessions  as  to  education  and 
language,  which  were  expected  to  be  and  were  afterwards 
evaded. 

The  Bohemians  or  Czechs  had  historic  rights  as  ancient 
and  a  political  entity  as  definite  and  distinct  as  the  Magyars 
of  Hungary.  Nor  were  they  far  inferior  to  them  in  num- 
ber. But  Count  von  Beust  was  seeking  not  justice  but  ex- 
pediency, and  believed  that,  since  two  races  were  satisfied, 
he  could  ignore  the  rest.  Bohemia,  Moravia,  Carniola,  re- 
fused to  send  delegates  to  the  Eeichsrath.  So  skilfully  had 
the  electoral  apportionments  been  manipulated  that  their 
abstention  did  not  cause  a  deadlock,  a  minority  of  voters 
being  represented  by  a  quorum  or  majority  of  deputies. 
An  ethnographic  congress  was  then  being  held  in  Moscow 
(1867).  It  was  natural  that  many  Austrian  Slavs  should 
attend  this  family  reunion  of  pan-Slavism.  Their  presence 
in  the  ancient  metropolis  of  the  Tsars  produced  a  profound 
sensation  all  over  Europe. 

Meanwhile  the  concordat  was  practically  abrogated,  civil 
marriage  authorized,  education  taken  from  clerical  control, 
the  jury  restored,  the  press  partially  emancipated,  the  right 
of  public  meetings  guaranteed,  and  the  army  reorganized 
on  the  Prussian  model.  Some  of  these  reforms  became 
sharp-edged  weapons  in  Slavic  hands.  On  August  22,  1868, 
the  Czech  deputies  issued  their  declaration.  By  this 
memorable  document,  which  constitutes  the  platform  of 
the  Bohemian  nation  to-day,  in  calm  and  dignified  language 
they  set  forth  their  rights  and  their  demands.  Encouraged 
by  the  emperor  (September,  1871)  they  submitted  a  pro- 
gramme, called  the  Fundamental  Articles,  which  proposed 
autonomy  for  Bohemia  under  Francis  Joseph,  who  was  to 
be  crowned  its  king.  The  furious  outcry  of  the  Hungarians 
and  Germans  prevented  its  being  carried  into  effect. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  title  of  chancellor  was  suppressed. 
Von  Beust  was  succeeded  as  minister  of  foreign  affairs  by 
Count  Andrassy.  Thus  a  Hungarian  had  become  the  min- 
isterial head  of  the  dual  empire. 

The  Hungarians  continued  to  treat  their  Slavic  and  other 


A.D.  1877-1878.]  AUSTRIA-EUNGAR7  71 

subjects  as  cruelly  as  the  Austrians  in  their  worst  days  had 
treated  them.     Their  conception  of  freedom  or  toleration 
was  limited  to  freedom  and  toleration  for  themselves.     Dif- 
ference of  religion  inflamed  the  hatred  of  race.     They  re- 
garded the  Croatians,  Roumanians,  Servians,  Slovaks,  not 
so  much   as   members   of  other  nationalities,  but  as  dis- 
senters and  heretics  who  must  be  Magyarized  at  any  cost. 
Nor  were  they  at  first  inclined  to  renew  the  Ausgleich  with 
Austria  when  its  first  term  of  ten  years  expired.     In  both 
countries  local  matters  continued  to  absorb  the  public  mind 
until  the  insurrection  in  Herzegovina  against  the  Sultan 
and   the   massacres   in   Bulgaria   roused  the  attention  of 
Europe  and  thrust  the  Eastern  Question  again  to  the  front. 
Acquisition  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  (1878).  — In  1877, 
after  having  exhausted  all  the  resources  of  diplomacy  to 
end  the  horrors  in  Bulgaria,  Russia  declared  war  against 
the  Sultan  and  invaded  the  Ottoman  Empire.     The  Austro- 
Hungarian  government  was  involved  in  extreme  difficulty. 
Its  Slavic  subjects  sympathized  keenly  with  their  suffering 
brethren  in  Turkey  and  demanded  cooperation  with  Russia. 
The  Hungarians,  blood  kinsmen  of  the  Turks,  mindful  of 
Turkish  hospitality  in  1849  and  full  of  resentment  against 
Russia,  were  as  eager  to  cooperate  with  Turkey.     General 
Klapka,  the  hero  of  Komorn,  offered  his  services  to  the 
Sultan.     The  Turks  were  toasted  and  feasted  at  Pesth  and 
the    Russians   at   Prague.      The    Germans,    dominant   at 
Vienna,    cared   nothing   for   the    Bulgarians.     Above   all, 
they  dreaded  the  extension  of  Russian  influence  and  terri- 
tory which  was  certain  to  result  from  the  war.     But  the 
racial  condition  of  their  empire  made  neutrality  a  necessity. 
To  side  in  arms  with  either  belligerent  would  rend  the 
monarchy  in  twain.     Yet,  anxious  to  make  the  most  of  a 
difficult  situation,  the  government  intended  that  its  enforced 
neutrality  should  be  paid  for.     A  quasi  promise  was  ob- 
tained from  the  Tsar  that  on  the  conclusion  of  peace  he 
would  not  oppose   the  occupation  of  Bosnia  and   Herze- 
govina by  Austria-Hungary.    The  Congress  of  Berlin  (1878) 
authorized  Austria  to  occupy  and  administer  those  prov- 
inces "in  the  name  of  the  Sultan."     Their  conquest  was 
bloody  and  costly.     It  added  to  the  embarrassment  of  the 
empire  even  more  than  to  its  territory.     It  introduced  a 
population  difficult  to  amalgamate  and  increased  the  already 
threatening  Slavic  mass. 


72  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1878-189& 

Austria-Hungary  from  1878  to  1898.  —Count  Taaffe  was 
minister-president  from  1879  to  1893.  An  opportunist  and 
a  moderate,  he  endeavored  to  be  hardly  more  than  a  politi- 
cal peacemaker.  His  efforts  in  that  direction  met  little 
success,  as  did  those  of  the  Polish  Count  Badeni,  who  was 
in  office  from  1895  until  November  30,  1897.  Constantly 
the  Austrian,  and  in  less  degree  the  Hungarian,  parliament 
presented  a  scene  of  indescribable  turbulence  and  confusion. 
Sometimes  their  disorder  and  lawlessness  disgraced  the 
nanie  of  legislation.  Yet  in  their  babel  of  languages  and 
their  bedlam  of  factional  strife  there  was  always  something 
definite  which  the  speaker  or  the  party  was  seeking.  What 
appeared  to  the  ear  or  the  eye  mere  wrangling  was  at  bottom 
a  serious  assertion  of  principles,  true  or  false,  and  a  vindi- 
cation or  denial  of  rights.  Hardly  anywhere  else  has  per- 
sonality counted  so  little. 

Since  October,  1895,  Count  Goluchowski,  a  Pole,  has 
been  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  To  him  more  than  to  any 
other  statesman  is  due  the  policy  of  concert,  followed  by 
the  six  great  Powers  in  reference  to  the  Armenian,  Cretan 
and  Greek  questions  of  1895-1897. 

Political  Problems  of  To-day.  —  In  more  than  one  respect 
the  Austro-Hungarian  rather  than  the  Ottoman  Empire  is 
the  sick  man  of  Europe.  The  antagonism  of  its  races  was 
never  more  pronounced  than  to-day  and  their  interests 
never  more  divergent.  The  general  advance  of  education 
renders  each  more  able  to  secure  those  ends  on  which  it  is 
fiercely  determined.  Circumstances  have  made  Austria- 
Hungary  a  migratory  state  upon  the  map,  moving  toward 
the  south  and  east.  But  farther  progress  in  that  direction 
is  checked  by  the  vigorous  youthful  states  along  the  Dan- 
ube and  the  Balkans,  while  further  disintegration  is  prob- 
able on  the  north  and  southwest.  Yet  her  internal  weakness 
is  not  so  manifest  as  in  the  dark  days  when  the  present 
sovereign  assumed  his  crown. 


A.D.  182&-1855.]  EUSSIA  73 


RUSSIA 

Nicholas  I  (1825-1855). — As  ruler  of  Eussia  the  Tsar 
Kicholas  during  his  reign  of  thirty  years  exercised  a  three- 
fold influence  upon  European  politics.  First,  as  heir,  not 
only  to  the  victorious  empire,  but  to  the  ideas  of  his 
brother,  Alexander  I,  he  was  the  acknowledged  head  of  the 
absolutist  or  reactionary  party  throughout  Europe.  Sec- 
ond, as  sovereign  of  the  largest  Slavic  state,  he  was  the 
hope  of  an  awakening  pan-Slavism,  that  should  reunite 
Slavic  tribes.  The  overthrow  and  absorption  of  Poland, 
the  second  largest  Slavic  state,  after  an  intermittent  war- 
fare of  centuries  between  her  and  Russia,  was  congenial  to 
the  other  Slavs.  It  was  among  the  Western  states  that  she 
found  most  sympathizers  and  not  among  peoples  of  the 
same  blood.  Third,  as  sovereign  of  the  empire  of  ortho- 
doxy, he  was  regarded,  and  regarded  himself,  as  of  right 
the  protector  and  champion  of  his  coreligionists,  subjects 
of  other  rulers,  specially  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Christians, 
subjects  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey. 

This  presumed  right  of  a  Eussian  Tsar  had  been  recog- 
nized by  treaties,  such  as  those  of  Kainardji  (1774),  Yassi 
(1792),  Adrianople  (1829)  and  Hunkiar  Iskelessi  (1833), 
with  the  Ottoman  Empire.  In  this  respect  Nicholas  was 
the  legitimate  successor  of  Peter  the  Great.  Yet  unlike 
Peter  he  detested  Western  civilization.  A  young  man  of 
eighteen  at  the  time  of  the  French  invasion,  the  horrors 
and  the  triumph  of  that  gigantic  struggle  were  burned  into 
his  soul.  Eussia  unaided  had  then  annihilated  the  hosts 
of  the  hitherto  invincible  Napoleon.  It  is  not  strange  if 
Nicholas  thought  that  Eussia  could  withstand  the  world. 
By  his  accession  in  1825,  just  a  century  after  the  death  of 
the  great  Tsar,  the  Muscovite  Empire,  for  the  first  time  in 
a  hundred  years,  had  a  sovereign  who  was  wholly  Eussian 
at  heart  and  who  believed  only  in  Eussia.  The  Eussians 
adored  him  with  such  loyalty  as  no  other  ruler  of  the  house 


74  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1851-1863. 

of  Romanoff  had  received.  His  unlooked-for  advent  to  the 
throne  was  regarded  as  the  special  interposition  of  Provi- 
dence. His  brother,  Constantine,  seventeen  years  his 
senior,  was  the  natural  heir  of  Alexander  I.  But  Con- 
stantine in  1820  had  become  devotedly  attached  to  the 
Polish  Countess  Groudsinska.  He  could  marry  her  only 
on  condition  of  renouncing  his  rights  of  inheritance.  He 
preferred  the  hand  of  the  lady  to  the  crown  of  Russia. 
"  That,  surely, "  said  the  peasants,  "  must  have  come  from 
God." 

The  Crimean  War  (1853-1856). — Its  apparent  cause 
was  a  contention  between  Greek  Orthodox  and  Latin 
priests  as  to  the  custody  of  certain  holy  places  in  Jerusa- 
lem (1851).  The  former  were  supported  by  Russia  and 
the  latter  by  Prance  and  Austria.  A  mixed  commission  to 
examine  the  matter  was  appointed  by  Sultan  Abd-ul  Medjid, 
which,  while  giving  a  temperate  report,  on  the  whole  fa- 
vored the  Latins.  The  Russians  and  the  Greek  Orthodox 
rayahs  of  Turkey  were  indignant  at  the  decision.  It  was  a 
general  Eastern  superstition  that  the  year  1853,  which 
completed  four  centuries  from  the  capture  of  Constanti- 
nople, would  see  the  downfall  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
The  Tsar  believed  all  things  were  propitious  to  hasten  that 
event. 

He  held  two  secret  interviews  (January  9  and  14,  1853) 
with  Sir  Hamilton  Seymour,  the  British  ambassador  at  St. 
Petersburg,  wherein  he  spoke  without  reserve  and  asked 
the  cooperation  of  Great  Britain.  He  proposed  to  unite 
the  Danubian  provinces  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  into  an 
independent  state  under  the  protection  of  Russia,  and 
create  two  states  of  Servia  and  Bulgaria.  He  said  nothing 
definite  about  Constantinople,  but  offered  Crete  and  Egypt 
to  Great  Britain.  It  is  interesting  to  remark  that,  with 
the  exception  of  Crete,  whose  destiny  is  still  undecided,  the 
other  propositions  of  the  Tsar  have  become  facts.  "If 
we  agree,"  he  said,  "I  care  little  what  the  others"  — 
France  and  Austria  —  "may  do."  The  British  ambassa- 
dor shrewdly  made  public  all  that  had  been  said  to  him  in 
confidence.  "The  others"  were  enraged  at  the  small 
account  taken  of  them  rather  than  at  the  propositions. 

In  May,  1853,  Prince  Mentchikoff  was  sent  to  Constan- 
tinople with  a  peremptory  note,  demanding  that  the  com- 
plaints of   Russian  pilgrims   to  the   Holy  Laud  receive 


A.D.  1853-185G.]  RUSSIA  75 

satisfaction  and  that  guarantees  be  given  for  the  protection 
of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Christians  in  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
Lord  Stratford  de  Kedcliffe,  British  ambassador  to  the 
Porte  from  1842  to  1858,  encouraged  the  Sultan  to  refuse 
compliance.  The  Russian  armies  crossed  the  Pruth  and 
occupied  the  principalities.  To  avert  war  the  Austrian 
government  drew  up  the  "Vienna  Note,"  which  was  ap- 
proved by  France  and  Great  Britain  and  accepted  by  Russia. 
But  the  British  ambassador  at  Constantinople  secured  its 
rejection  by  the  Sultan  and  persuaded  him  to  take  reso- 
lute action.  The  Porte  delivered  an  ultimatum  to  Russia 
(September  26)  and  declared  war  (October  4). 

The  subsequent  events  of  the  struggle  and  its  conclusion 
in  the  treaty  of  Paris  are  narrated  in  the  chapter  on  the 
"Second  French  Empire."  Nicholas  had  been  outwitted 
in  diplomacy  and  defeated  in  arms.  Broken-hearted  and 
disillusioned,  even  before  the  capture  of  Sebastopol,  the 
"iron  emperor"  gave  way.  Sick  and  suffering,  he  com- 
mitted imprudences  which  can  only  be  explained  as  a 
desire  to  hasten  his  end.  He  himself  dictated  the  despatch 
which  he  sent  to  all  the  great  cities  of  Russia,  "The  em- 
peror is  dying,"  and  expired  on  March  2,  1855. 

The  disasters  of  the  Crimea  had  been  a  cruel  revelation, 
not  only  to  him  but  to  his  subjects.  His  army  and  his 
people  had  supposed  they  were  to  revolutionize  the  East, 
indefinitely  extend  their  empire,  and  drive  out  the  crescent 
from  Jerusalem.  Instead,  they  were  obliged  to  dismantle 
their  own  fortresses  and  withdraw  their  warships  from  the 
Black  Sea.  Nothing  however  had  occurred  to  disprove 
their  proud  boast  that,  should  any  hostile  nation  really 
penetrate  Russia,  its  sovereign  would  there  lose  his  crown 
like  Charles  XII  and  Napoleon  the  Great,  and  its  army 
would  leave  there  its  bones. 

Alexander  II  (1855-1881) .—"  Your  burden  will  be 
heavy,"  his  father  had  said  to  him  when  dying.  To 
bear  this  burden  nature  had  well  fitted  the  new  Tsar. 
Though  devoted  to  his  father's  memory,  he  realized  that 
his  father's  system  had  been  found  wanting  and  that 
another  epoch  must  open  in  Russia.  Everywhere  there 
was  the  sullen  rumble  of  discontent.  Of  mediocre  ability, 
self-distrustful  rather  than  headstrong,  just,  patient  and 
plodding,  he  desired  to  inaugurate  a  new  era.  He  deter- 
mined to  reform  where  it  was  possible  and  to  mitigate  what 


76  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1856-1861. 

he  could  not  reform.  In  his  manifesto  immediately  after 
the  conclusion  of  peace  he  outlined  his  policy  almost  with 
boldness.  The  corruption  and  inefficiency  of  administra- 
tion had  been  protected  by  a  muzzled  press,  by  a  rigorous 
police  and  by  a  compulsory  silence  on  the  part  of  the  people. 
He  encouraged  freedom  of  speech  and  thought.  "The 
conservative  Russia  of  Nicholas  I  seemed  buried  under  the 
sod.  Every  one  declared  himself  a  liberal."  Public 
opinion  wished  to  undertake  every  reform  at  once,  but  the 
question  of  social  reform  dominated  all  others. 

There  were  then  47,200,000  serfs,  divided  into  two  great 
classes.  Of  these  24,700,000,  dependent  upon  the  crown, 
enjoyed  a  large  degree  of  personal  freedom.  They  exer- 
cised local  self-government,  administered  their  own  affairs 
in  communes,  or  mirs,  by  an  elected  council,  and  possessed 
tribunals  which  they  had  themselves  chosen.  The  prohi- 
bition to  dispose  of  or  acquire  property  and  to  remove  from 
the  place  of  birth  was  abolished  by  successive  ukases,  be- 
ginning July,  1858. 

The  other  22,500,000  serfs,  the  "disposition"  of  120,000 
nobles,  were  hardly  better  than  slaves.  The  system  had 
grown  up  strangely  when  Russia  was  bowed  under  the  Tar- 
tar yoke,  but  it  had  been  introduced  by  native  princes 
and  not  by  foreigners.  Gradually  the  preceding  Tsars  or 
dukes  of  Moscow  had  imposed  their  absolute  will  on  their 
vassals,  the  nobles,  and  the  nobles  had  succeeded  in  doing 
the  same  to  their  vassals,  the  peasants  or  serfs,  only  more 
effectually.  These  aristocratic  usurpations  had  been  even 
confirmed  and  the  mujik  still  further  restricted  by  suc- 
cessive ukases  during  two  centuries.  Alexander  I  and 
Nicholas  I  himself  had  vainly  tried  to  modify  the  iniqui- 
tous system.  Innumerable  difficulties  stood  in  the  way. 
Who  should  indemnify  the  proprietors  for  their  loss?  What 
was  the  advantage  of  freedom  to  emancipated  serfs  who 
could  possess  nothing  of  their  own? 

In  March,  1856,  Alexander  II  invited  his  "  faithful  no- 
bility "  to  consider  what  steps  were  necessary  to  bring  about 
emancipation.  His  suggestions  were  coldly  received.  He 
travelled  over  the  country,  appealing  to  the  nobles  to  assist 
him,  but  their  inertia  was  harder  to  overcome  than  active 
opposition.  Finally,  he  issued  his  immortal  edict  of 
emancipation  (March  3,  1861).  Thus  by  a  stroke  of  the 
pen,  the  serfs,  hitherto  fastened  to  the  soil,  were  raised  to 


AJJ.  1861-1871.]  RUSSIA  77 

the  rank  of  freemen.  Provision  was  made  for  their  acquir- 
ing property  and  for  the  protection  of  their  newly  granted 
liberty.  But  a  change  so  radical  was  accompanied  by  local 
disturbances  and  bloodshed. 

An  annual  statement  of  the  public  finances  began  to  be 
made.  The  universities  were  delivered  from  the  restric- 
tions imposed  by  Nicholas,  Foreigners  acquired  the  same 
rights  as  were  enjoyed  by  Russians  abroad.  Censorship 
of  the  press  had  been  already  relaxed.  The  use  of  the 
knout  was  abolished.  Such  Jews  as  exercised  any  manual 
occupation  received  permission  to  settle  freely  in  the 
empire. 

Reforms  were  likewise  introduced  into  the  administration 
of  Poland.  But  the  spirit  of  nationality  was  not  extinct 
and  nothing  less  than  independence  could  satisfy  the  Poles. 
Further  concessions  accomplished  little.  The  troubles 
went  on  increasing  until  January,  1863,  when  they  took  the 
form  of  guerilla  warfare.  Resistance  was  cruelly  put  down. 
The  insurrection  cost  dearly  to  Poland.  The  last  remains 
of  her  national  life  were  stamped  out.  Polish  was  replaced 
by  Russian  as  the  official  language  and  was  forbidden  in  the 
schools.  Ardent  Slavophils  wished  likewise  to  Russify 
Finland,  but  the  Tsar  confirmed  all  its  political  privileges. 
Livonia,  Esthonia  and  Courland  were  not  disquieted  but 
continued  to  exist  as  vassal  provinces,  with  their  own  lan- 
guage and  laws,  under  the  Russian  crown. 

Meanwhile  the  war  in  America  was  going  on  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union.  Russia  was  pronounced  and 
outspoken  in  friendliness  to  the  United  States.  The  firm 
and  consistent  course  pursued  by  her,  when  other  powers 
were  desirous  of  our  national  dissolution,  is  something 
which  Americans  cannot  forget. 

Revision  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  (1871).  —In  1870  Prince 
Gortschakoff,  the  Russian  chancellor,  informed  the  Euro- 
pean Powers  that  Russia  no  longer  considered  herself  bound 
by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  as  far  as  it  curtailed  her  natural 
rights  on  the  Black  Sea.  Various  infractions  of  that  treaty 
were  assigned  as  reasons  for  this  declaration.  A  conference 
of  the  signatory  states  at  London  accepted  the  declaration 
of  Russia.  Thus  the  most  important  result  of  the  Crimean 
War  was  annulled.  Russia  has  since  been  free  to  construct 
such  fortifications  as  she  pleased  upon  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea  and  to  maintain  a  navy  upon  its  waters.     This 


78  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1872-1876. 

right  was  furthermore  ratijGied  by  an  agreement  with  Turkey 
(March  18,  1872).  ^ 

The  Russo-Turkish  War  (1877-1878). —The  promises  of 
the   Sultan  to  introduce  reform  in  the  treatment  of  his 
Christian  subjects  had  been  flagrantly  and  constantly  broken. 
Protected  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  wherein  the  Powers  had 
waived  all  right  to  interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  the  Turks  were  no  longer  influenced  by 
the  restraint  of  fear.     In  1874  the  Slavic  rayahs  of  Bosnia 
and  Herzegovina  rebelled.      Again   the   Sultan  promised 
reforms,  but  the  insurgents  demanded  guarantees  that  he 
would  keep  his  word.     To  prevent  the  flames  of  insurrec- 
tion from  spreading,  Count  Andrassy,  the  Austro-Hunga- 
rian  chancellor,  obtained  the  Sultan's  approval  to  certain 
measures  enumerated  in  a  formal  note  (February  12,  1876), 
but  the  insurgents  were  still  distrustful.     Suddenly  the 
consuls  of  Germany  and  France  at  Salonica  were  massacred 
by  a  Mussulman  mob.     Kussia,  Germany  and  Austria  united 
in  the  memorandum  of  Berlin  (May  1),  demanding  of  the 
Sultan   a  two  months'  armistice  with   the  Bosnians  and 
Herzegovinians  and  immediate  introduction  of  the  reforms. 
They  threatened  the  employment  of  force  in  case  of  refusal. 
Encouraged  by  the  support  of  Great  Britain,  who  refused  to 
approve  the  memorandum,  the  Sultan  withheld  his  consent. 
The  horrors  of  Bulgaria  broke  out,   where  more  than 
20,000  Bulgarians  were  massacred.      Public  meetings  in 
Great  Britain  denounced  the  atrocities.     Servia  and  Mon- 
tenegro took  up  arms.     The  latter  was  victorious.     The 
former  was  totally  defeated,  though  the  Servian  army  con- 
tained many  Russian  volunteers  and  was  commanded  by  the 
Russian  General  Tchernaieff.     Alexander  II  and  the  Rus- 
sian official  party  wished  to  avoid  war,  though  the  Tsar  in 
a  speech  at  Moscow  (November  12)  openly  expressed  his 
sympathy  for  the  Christians.     France  and  Germany  held 
themselves   aloof.      Austria   did  her   utmost   to   preserve 
peace.     Great  Britain  proposed  a  conference  of  the  Powers 
at  Constantinople,  which  met  on  November  23.     It  pre- 
sented an  ultimatum,  requiring  the  autonomy  of  Bosnia, 
Herzegovina    and    Bulgaria,    concessions   of    territory  to 
Montenegro,  the  status  quo  for  Servia,  a  general  amnesty, 
genuine  reform  in  Turkish  administration  and  judiciary, 
and  the  nomination  by  the  great  Powers  of  two  commis- 
sions to  see  that  the  promises  were  carried  out.     In  case  of 


A.D.  1877-1878.]  RUSSIA  79 

refusal  all  the  ambassadors  were  to  demand  their  passports. 
Sultan  Abd-ul  Hamid  II  was  on  the  throne,  his  predeces- 
sors, Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz  and  Sultan  Mourad  V,  having  been 
overthrown  that  same  year  by  revolution.  The  astute 
Midhat  Pasha  was  grand  vizier.  Again  encouraged  by  the 
British  ambassador,  the  Sultan  refused  to  comply. 

No  Power  was  willing  to  act,  thougli  tlae  ambassadors  in 
a  body  had  formally  left  Constantinople.  Midhat  Pasha 
signed  a  treaty  with  Servia,  but  Montenegro  held  out. 
Prince  Gortschakoft'  sent  a  circular  note  to  the  European 
courts  (January  31)  and  General  Ignatieff,  the  Russian 
ambassador,  travelled  over  Europe  to  induce  united  action. 
The  protocol  of  London  (March  31)  invited  the  Sultan  to 
disarm,  and  announced,  that  if  he  continued  to  violate 
his  promises  of  reform,  the  great  Powers  would  consult 
further. 

iSTothing  had  been  accomplished.  The  resources  of  a 
diplomacy  of  words  were  exhausted.  Turkey  was  still  in- 
different or  defiant.  In  Russia  the  Tsar  and  the  official 
classes  still  hesitated,  but  the  Russian  people  were  aflame. 
Public  sentiment,  even  in  a  despotic  empire,  could  not  be 
resisted.  The  same  forces  of  humanity  and  sympathy, 
which  compelled  the  American  government  to  take  up 
arms  in  the  effort  to  end  the  horrors  in  Cuba,  compelled 
the  reluctant  Tsar  to  take  up  arms  to  end  longer-con- 
tinued and  more  atrocious  horrors  in  the  dominions  of 
the  Sultan.  The  Russian  war  of  1877-1878  against  Turkey 
finds  its  exact  parallel  in  the  American  war  of  1898  against 
Spain.  Both  were  spontaneous  armed  uprisings  in  behalf 
of  mankind. 

The  Tsar  issued  his  manifesto  on  April  24,  1877.  The 
war  lasted  until  the  preliminary  treaty  of  San  Stephano 
on  March  3,  1878.  It  was  carried  on  in  both  Asia  and 
Europe. 

In  Asia  the  Russian  general-in-chief,  the  Armenian 
Loris  Melikoff,  captured  Ardahan  (May  17).  General  Der 
Hougassoff,  also  an  Armenian,  took  Bayezid  (April  20)  and 
gained  the  battles  of  Dram  Dagh  (June  10)  and  Dai'ar 
(June  21).  Melikoff,  defeated  at  Zewin  (June  26)  by 
Mouktar  Pasha,  was  obliged  to  retreat.  The  Russians 
received  reenforcements.  Mouktar  Pasha  was  crushed  at 
Aladja  Dagh  (October  14-16)  and  driven  into  Erzeroum. 
Kars  was  stormed  (November  18)  and  fell  with  17,000  pris- 


80  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1877-1878. 

oners  and  300  cannon.  The  road  to  Constantinople  through 
Asia  Minor  was  open. 

In  Europe  Abd-ul  Kerim  Pasha,  Turkish  commander-in- 
chief,  remained  apathetic  in  his  camp  at  Shoumla.  The 
main  Russian  army  crossed  the  Danube  at  Sistova  (June  27). 
Baron  von  Kriidener  took  Nicopolis  with  7000  prisoners,  113 
cannon  and  two  monitors  (July  15).  General  Gourko  at- 
tacked the  Turks  in  the  Balkans  and  seized  the  Shipka  Pass 
(July  17-19).  Panic  reigned  at  Constantinople.  The  Ot- 
toman Minister  of  War,  Redif  Pasha,  who  had  proclaimed 
the  Holy  War,  was  removed.  Abd-ul  Kerim  Pasha  was  re- 
placed by  Mehemet  Ali  Pasha,  the  son  of  a  German  tailor 
converted  to  Islam.  Soulei'man  Pasha  was  recalled  from 
Montenegro  to  protect  the  capital.  Jealousy  prevented 
cooperation  among  the  Ottoman  generals.  Soulei'man 
Pasha  dashed  his  army  against  the  Russians  and  the  Bul- 
garian legion  in  vain  attempts  to  regain  the  Shipka  Pass 
(August  16  and  September  17).  Mehemet  Ali  Pasha  was 
terribly  defeated  at  Tserkoria  (September  21).  Osman 
Pasha  was  forced  into  Plevna  (August  31).  There  he  de- 
fended himself  with  skill  and  bravery.  But  his  capitula- 
tion was  only  a  question  of  time.  General  Todleben,  who 
had  fortified  Sebastopol  in  the  Crimean  war,  took  charge  of 
the  siege.  SkobelefE  and  Gourko  cut  off  all  communication. 
The  Roumanians,  who  had  declared  themselves  independent 
and  had  joined  the  Russians  with  60,000  men,  performed 
prodigies  of  valor.  By  a  general  sortie  Osman  Pasha  tried 
to  break  through  the  iron  circle,  but  was  forced  to  surrender 
with  43,000  soldiers  (December  10).  The  siege  had  lasted 
almost  four  months.  The  Sultan  now  wished  to  treat  for 
peace,  but  was  persuaded  by  the  British  ambassador.  Sir 
Austin  Layard,  to  continue  the  war.  Soulei'man  Pasha  re- 
placed Mehemet  Ali  Pasha  and  gained  a  tardy  victory  at 
Elena  (November  20). 

The  famous  Turkish  quadrilateral  of  Silistria,  Roust- 
chouk,  Shoumla  and  Varna  was  still  intact.  Already  the 
mountain  passes  were  blocked  with  snow.  An  unusually 
severe  season  had  begun.  The  Turks  supposed  that  hostili- 
ties would  cease  until  spring.  The  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
ordered  General  Gourko  to  force  the  Balkans.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  magnificent  winter  campaign  along  ravines  and 
precipices,  where  the  soldiers  themselves  dragged  the 
cannon.     The  astounded  Turks  were  everywhere  defeated. 


A.D.  1878.]  RUSSIA  81 

Sofia,  the  Bulgarian  capital,  which  had  not  seen  a  Chris- 
tian army  for  400  years,  was  entered  (January  3, 1878).  Six 
days  later  Wessir  Pasha  surrendered  with  32,000  men  and 
sixty-six  cannon. 

The  Ottoman  Empire  seemed  entering  its  death  agony. 
The  Servians  had  declared  war.  Thessaly,  Macedonia  and 
Albania  were  in  open  rebellion.  The  Cretans  were  tumultu- 
ously  demanding  union  with  Greece.  The  Greek  army 
crossed  the  frontier.  The  Montenegrins  captured  fortress 
after  fortress  in  the  west.  The  Russians  effected  their 
junction  at  Adrianople  (January  20)  and  reached  the  Mar- 
mora on  January  31.  That  same  day  an  armistice  was 
signed  at  Adrianople.  It  was  time.  To  oppose  the  ad- 
vance of  the  invaders  the  Sultan  had  only  a  corps  of  12,000 
men,  camped  on  the  hills  of  Tchataldja,  an  easy  day's 
march  from  the  capital. 

The  rapid  Russian  successes  produced  intense  excitement 
in  Great  Britain.  The  government  made  vigorous  prepara- 
tions for^war.  The  British  fleet  passed  the  Dardanelles  and 
anchored  close  to  Constantinople  (February  14).  There- 
upon the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  advanced  to  San  Stephano, 
seven  miles  from  the  city  walls. 

On  March  3  the  Russian  and  Ottoman  plenipotentiaries 
signed  the  preliminary  treaty  of  San  Stephano.  It  recog- 
nized the  independence  of  both  Roumania  and  Servia.  The 
latter  was  enlarged  by  the  district  of  Nisch,  The  former 
received  the  Dobroudja  in  exchange  for  Bessarabia,  which 
was  restored  to  Russia  as  before  the  Crimean  war.  Mon- 
tenegro gained  the  ports  of  Spizza  and  Antivari  on  the 
Adriatic  and  more  than  doubled  its  territory.  In  Asia 
Russia  was  confirmed  in  the  possession  of  the  eastern  quad- 
rilateral, Kars,  Ardahan,  Bayezid  and  Batoum.  The  Turks 
were  condemned  to  pay  a  war  indemnity  of  300,000,000 
roubles.  Bulgaria  was  created  a  vassal  principality  of  the 
Sultan.  It  was  to  extend  from  the  Danube  to  the  ^gean 
Sea,  thus  cutting  in  twain  the  still  remaining  Turkish  pos- 
sessions in  Europe.  Never  had  the  Ottoman  Empire  signed 
a  treaty  as  fatal. 

The  Congress  of  Berlin  (1878).  — The  preliminary  treaty 
of  San  Stephano  terrified  Austria,  who  saw  aggrandized 
Slavic  states  on  her  southwest  frontier  neighboring  upon 
her  own  Slavic  peoples.  It  enraged  Great  Britain,  who  saw 
in  it  the  practical  extinction  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.     But 


82  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1878. 

Austria  was  held  in  check  by  Germany.  Great  Britain, 
though  unable  to  put  a  large  army  into  the  field,  employed 
every  weapon  known  to  diplomacy.  Russia  was  neither 
desirous  of  nor  prepared  for  further  war.  After  much  ne- 
gotiation with  the  courts  of  Great  Britain  and  Germany, 
she  agreed  to  submit  the  treaty  to  a  congress  of  the  Powers 
at  Berlin.  A  secret  agreement  however  had  just  been  ar- 
rived at  for  their  two  governments  by  Count  Schouvaloff 
and  Lord  Salisbury. 

The  congress  opened  on  June  13  and  continued  in  session 
just  one  month.  The  nations  were  represented  by  their 
ablest  and  most  illustrious  statesmen.  Among  the  dele- 
gates were  Count  Andrassy,  Austro-Hungarian  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  Monsieur  Waddington  from  France,  Count 
Corti  from  Italy,  Mehemet  Ali  Pasha  and  Caratheodoridi 
Pasha  from  Turkey,  Lord  Salisbury  from  Great  Britain  and 
Count  Schouvaloff  from  Russia.  The  three  most  conspicu- 
ous figures  were  Prince  Bismarck,  who  presided.  Prince 
Gortschakoff,  chancellor  of  Russia,  and  Lord  Beaconsfield, 
prime  minister  of  Great  Britain. 

The  treaty  of  Berlin  much  reduced  the  size  of  the  pro- 
posed Bulgaria.  It  also  divided  it  in  two :  "  Principality 
of  Bulgaria,"  between  the  Danube  and  the  Balkans,  an 
autonomous  state  tributary  to  the  Sultan;  "Province  of 
Eastern  Rouraelia,"  extending  south  of  the  Balkans  half- 
way to  the  ^gean  Sea.  The  latter,  though  under  a  Chris- 
tian governor,  was  to  depend  directly  upon  the  Sultan. 
The  independence  of  Roumania  and  Servia  was  recognized, 
but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  always  independent  Montenegro, 
their  proposed  acquisitions  were  diminished.  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina  were  assigned  to  Austria.  The  wish  was  ex- 
pressed, though  not  inserted  in  the  treaty,  that  the  Sultan 
make  certain  concessions  of  territory  to  the  Greeks.  As 
to  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan,  the  congress  con- 
tented itself  with  a  repetition  of  his  familiar  promises  to 
introduce  reforms.  In  Asia  Khotour  was  ceded  to  Persia, 
and  the  Russians  restored  Bayezid  to  Turkey,  though  retain- 
ing Kars,  Batoum  and  Ardahan. 

During  the  session  the  revelation  was  made  of  a  secret 
treaty  for  defensive  alliance  between  Great  Britain  and 
Turkey,  which  had  been  concluded  on  the  preceding  4th 
of  June.  In  this  secret  treaty  Great  Britain  agreed  to  unite 
in  arms  with  the  Sultan  in  defense  of  the  Ottoman  Empire 


A.D.  1878.]  RUSSIA  83 

in  case  it  should  ever  be  attacked  by  Kussia.  In  return  the 
Sultan  promised  to  assign  the  island  of  Cyprus  to  Great 
Britain  and  to  introduce  the  necessary  reforms  in  the  treat- 
ment of  his  Christian  subjects  —  such  reforms  to  be  deter- 
mined later  by  the  two  Powers. 

The  congress  of  Berlin,  not  only  in  the  very  fact  of  its 
existence  but  in  its  decisions,  was  a  diplomatic  defeat  for 
Russia,  Her  main  object,  the  deliverance  of  Bulgaria,  was 
indeed  attained,  but  this  Bulgaria  was  torn  asunder  and 
shorn  of  its  strength.  Great  Britain  and  Austria  without 
fighting  had  gained :  the  one,  Cyprus  and  preponderance  in 
Asia  Minor;  and  the  other,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  ad- 
vancement on  the  road  to  Salonica  and  hence  direct  influ- 
ence over  Montenegro  and  Servia.  The  Turkish  Empire  had 
been  rescued  from  destruction,  its  existence  prolonged  and 
further  opportunity  afforded  for  future  outrage  and  mas- 
sacre. For  Beaconsfield  and  Great  Britain  that  congress 
was  a  striking  but  none  the  less  a  deplorable  triumph. 

The  Nihilists.  —  The  reforms  after  the  accession  of  Alex- 
ander II  had  come  upon  the  people  like  a  galvanic  shock. 
However  warmly,  though  vaguely,  desired,  their  application 
caused  everywhere  dissatisfaction.  The  ingrained  despotic 
system  had  vitiated  every  activity  of  life.  The  serfs  were 
dissatisfied  because  they  had  not  gained  more.  The  nobles 
were  sullen  because,  when  dispossessed  of  their  serfs,  their 
revenues  were  curtailed.  The  hosts  of  students  from  the 
humbler  classes,  attracted  by  scholarships  or  purses  to  the 
universities  and  newly  opened  colleges,  found  on  comple- 
tion of  their  studies  that  all  the  civil  and  official  positions 
were  already  occupied  by  the  privileged  and  themselves 
shut  out.  Everywhere  there  was  discontent,  like  morbid 
soreness  of  the  body  ready  to  propagate  political  disease. 

The  irresolute  Tsar  was  discouraged.  Some  proposed 
reforms  he  withheld  and  others  he  partially  withdrew.  The 
government  tried  to  relax  and  tighten  the  reins  at  the  same 
time.  Reaction  set  in,  and  the  counter  reaction  was  nihil- 
ism. Russian  nihilism  could  resemble  the  mad  vagaries  of 
no  other  country,  for  it  was  stamped  with  the  peculiarities 
of  the  Russian  mind.  Though  the  nihilist  considered  Rus- 
sia diseased,  he  looked  upon  all  other  lands  as  equally  or 
still  more  rotten.  In  Russia  he  saw  nothing  worth  the 
keeping,  and  in  the  rest  of  the  world  he  saw  nothing  worth 
the   taking.      Some   of    the   nihilists    were   theorists   and 


84  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1880. 

dreamers.  Others,  the  more  daring  and  dangerous,  were 
revolutionists.  Their  ranks  were  recruited  by  men  and 
women  from  the  universities,  who  were  maddened  by  en- 
forced idleness  and  poverty  and  social  wrongs.  Never 
numerous,  their  almost  inhuman  activity  multiplied  their 
numbers  in  common  opinion.  Their  contempt  for  death 
gave  them  horrible  efficiency.  Tracked  and  hunted  like 
wild  beasts,  they  surpassed  wild  beasts  in  merciless  ferocity. 
For  years  Russia  was  mined  and  countermined  by  them  and 
their  terrible  antagonists,  the  secret  police  of  the  dreaded 
third  section. 

Assassinations  and  attempts  at  assassination  followed 
fast.  Matveeif,  rector  of  the  university  of  Kiev,  Mezent- 
seff,  chief  of  the  third  section.  Prince  Krapotkine,  governor 
of  Kharkof,  Colonel  Knoop  at  Odessa,  Captain  Eeinstein  at 
Moscow,  Pietrovski,  chief  of  police  at  Archangel,  and  scores 
of  prominent  persons  were  stabbed  or  shot.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  blow  up  the  imperial  family  with  dynamite  at 
the  winter  palace  (1880).  The  explosion  killed  sixty  sol- 
diers and  wounded  forty.  The  Tsarina  died  in  June,  1880. 
The  nihilists  matured  their  plans  to  blow  up  the  bridge 
over  which  the  funeral  cortege  was  to  pass  and  destroy  the 
imperial  hearse  with  all  the  mourners,  the  foreign  princes 
and  guards.  A  sudden  storm  so  swelled  the  waters  of  the 
Neva  as  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  plot. 

On  December  4,  1879,  the  Nihilist  Executive  Committee 
sent  the  Tsar  his  sentence  of  death,  but  for  a  long  time 
every  effort  to  put  it  in  execution  failed.  In  February, 
1881,  he  submitted  the  scheme  of  a  constitution  to  a  coun- 
cil. On  March  9  he  gave  the  elaborated  form  his  approval, 
but,  hesitating  still,  delayed  its  proclamation.  On  the 
morning  of  March  13  he  sent  the  order  for  its  publication 
in  the  official  messenger.  That  afternoon,  while  riding,  a 
bomb  was  thrown  against  his  carriage.  Many  soldiers  and 
pedestrians  were  killed,  but  the  emperor  was  unharmed. 
"Let  me  see  the  wounded,"  he  exclaimed,  and  sprang  from 
his  carriage.  Instantly  a  second  bomb  was  thrown  at  him. 
Horribly  mutilated,  he  was  borne  to  his  palace,  where  he 
expired  without  uttering  a  word. 

In  1861  he  had  emancipated  the  serfs.  In  1878  he  had 
freed  Bulgaria.  At  the  moment  of  his  death  the  Consti- 
tution which  he  had  granted  was  being  set  in  type.  It  is  a 
strange  and  sad  coincidence  that  the  two  liberators,  the 


A.D.  1881-1882.]  RUSSIA  85 

president  who  freed  the  slaves  in  the  United  States  and  the 
Tsar  who  freed  the  serfs  in  Kussia,  should  both  perish  by 
the  hand  of  an  assassin. 

Reign  of  Alexander  III  (1881-1894). —Alexander  III 
had  to  choose  between  two  roads.  Should  he  follow  the 
progressive  policy  of  his  father  and  confirm  the  still  un- 
published constitution,  or  should  he  set  his  face  backward 
and  reign  like  Nicholas  I?  "Change  none  of  my  father's 
orders, "  he  said  at  first.  "  It "  —  the  Constitution  —  "  shall 
be  his  last  will  and  testament."  Unhappily  for  Russia  such 
sentiments  did  not  last.  In  Pobiedonostseff,  High  Procu- 
rator of  the  Holy  Synod,  a  reactionary  fanatic  of  spotless 
integrity,  and  the  Slavophil,  General  Ignatieff,  he  found 
congenial  counsellors.  The  Constitution  was  withheld.  The 
temperate  and  humane  General  Melikoff,  the  trusted  friend 
of  his  father,  tendered  his  resignation.  General  Ignatieff 
was  made  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

The  day  of  absolutism,  espionage  and  Russification  by 
force  had  come  back.  The  government  endeavored  in  do- 
mestic affairs  to  undo  all  that  Alexander  II  had  done. 
Hatred  of  everything  foreign  was  the  mode.  Katkoff,  the 
violent  editor  of  the  Moscoiv  Gazette,  was  allowed  the  utmost 
latitude,  because  he  so  fully  expressed  all  the  dynastic  and 
popular  passions  of  the  hour.  Never  was  Russian  intoler- 
ance manifested  in  more  annoying  ways  and  with  greater 
severity.  The  treatment  of  the  Jews  was  a  disgrace  to  hu- 
manity. They  were  forbidden  to  own  or  lease  land  or  to 
exercise  any  liberal  profession.  They  were  ordered  to  con- 
centrate in  a  few  western  provinces  so  as  to  be  more 
easily  watched.  More  than  300,000  emigrated.  The  gov- 
ernment was  no  more  cruel  than  the  people.  In  Balta  the 
peasants  without  provocation  sacked  976  Jewish  houses  and 
killed  or  wounded  219  Jews.  The  Lutherans  and  Dis- 
senters were  treated  unmercifully.  At  last  even  General 
Ignatieff  was  shocked  or  alarmed,  and  proposed  moderation. 

Prince  Gortschakoff,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  asked  to 
be  relieved  from  his  duties  as  chancellor  (1882).  As  his 
successor  the  war  party  desired  General  Ignatieff,  the  peace 
party  M.  de  Giers.  Despite  its  antipathy  for  Europe,  the 
foreign  policy  of  the  government  was  pacific.  M.  de  Giers 
was  appointed.  His  rival,  in  chagrin,  withdrew  to  private 
life.  Count  Tolstoi  was  made  Minister  of  the  Interior  and 
under  him  the  anti-Semitic  agitation  was  sternly  repressed. 


86  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  188^-1896. 

Improvement  in  the  public  finances,  brought  about  by 
Vichnegradzy,  the  Minister  of  Finance,  is  almost  the  only 
alleviation  in  this  dismal  reign. 

The  nihilists,  boastful  of  their  success  in  "  removing  "  a 
Tsar,  continued  their  work.  They  held  Russia  in  such 
terrorism  that  the  coronation  of  Alexander  III  had  been 
postponed  almost  two  years.  The  Tsar  had  distinguished 
himself  as  a  soldier  in  the  Russo-Turkish  war,  but  his  life 
on  the  throne  was  passed  in  constant  fear  of  assassination. 
Immediately  on  accession  he  had  appointed  his  brother, 
Vladimir,  to  serve  as  regent  in  case  of  necessity.  Cease- 
less watchfulness  and  dread  sapped  his  strength.  The  long 
illness  from  which  he  finally  died  (October  31,  1894)  was 
largely  due  to  the  incessant  attempts  of  the  nihilists  upon 
his  life. 

Nicholas  II  (1894-  ).  —  Though  at  first  apparently 
desirous  of  following  in  his  father's  steps,  he  soon  showed 
himself  awake  to  the  spirit  of  the  age.  On  November  27 
at  St.  Petersburg  he  married  the  Princess  Alix  of  Hesse, 
granddaughter  of  Queen  Victoria.  All  the  troops  and  police 
were  withdrawn  from  the  streets.  The  people  were  allowed 
without  restraint  to  climb  the  lamp-posts  and  trees  and 
crowd  the  windows  along  the  route  of  the  bridal  procession. 
Such  freedom  on  such  an  occasion  had  never  been  known  in 
Russia.  This  manifest  confidence  in  his  subjects  made  a 
profound  impression  and  won  him  immense  popularity.  In 
the  formal  visits  of  the  imperial  consorts  to  different  parts 
of  the  empire  the  same  shrewd  etiquette  of  confidence  has 
been  followed. 

On  the  death  of  M.  de  Giers  (January,  1895),  who  had 
been  the  real  director  of  Russian  foreign  policy  since  the 
treaty  of  Berlin,  Prince  Lobanoff  became  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  and  proved  himself  equally  pacific.  The  serious 
Pamir  difficulty  as  to  the  boundary  between  the  British 
and  Russian  Asiatic  possessions  was  settled  in  a  manner 
honorable  to  both  countries. 

The  splendor  of  the  coronation  ceremonies  at  Moscow 
(May  20,  1896)  was  darkened  by  a  terrible  catastrophe. 
Over  400,000  people  had  crowded  together  on  the  Khodyn- 
skoye  plain  to  feast  as  guests  of  the  Tsar.  Insufficient 
police  were  present  to  control  the  immense  mass.  In  the 
crush  over  3000  persons  were  suffocated  or  trampled  to 
death.      In  his  coronation  manifesto  the  Tsar  announced 


A..l>.  189G-1898.]  RUSSIA  87 

that  the  land  tax  was  diminished  one-half  and  that  a  com- 
prehensive amnesty  had  been  granted  to  political  offenders. 
Soon  afterward  Nicholas  II  and  the  Tsarina  visited  Austria- 
Hungary,  Great  Britain,  France  and  Germany. 

In  1897  the  Tsar  was  received  with  enthusiasm  at  War- 
saw. As  a  token  of  his  appreciation  he  granted  permission 
for  the  erection  of  a  statue  to  Mickievitch,  the  patriot  poet 
whose  songs  had  inspired  the  Poles  in  their  former  resist- 
ance to  Russia.  In  the  same  year  for  the  first  time  a  gen- 
eral census  of  the  empire  was  undertaken. 

The  present  of  Russia  is  full  of  hope.  A  more  enlight- 
ened spirit  is  making  its  way  among  the  government  and 
people.  Nihilism  for  a  time  at  least  is  silent  or  has  dis- 
appeared. Slowly,  but  none  the  less  surely,  the  condition 
of  the  serfs  is  improving.  The  energies  of  the  country  are 
concentrating  in  industrial  and  commercial  channels  and  its 
limitless  natural  resources  being  utilized. 

With  progress  at  home  is  coupled  a  parallel  advance  of 
Russian  influence  abroad.  To-day  that  influence  in  a  strik- 
ing manner  is  being  exerted  in  behalf  of  the  world's 
tranquillity  and  peace.  On  August  28,  1898,  the  Russian 
government  communicated  to  the  courts  of  Europe  one  of 
the  most  memorable  State  papers  ever  issued.  This  docu- 
ment in  graphic  language  set  forth  the  terrible  burden 
imposed  by  the  existence  of  vast  standing  armies  and  by 
national  rivalry  in  military  armaments.  It  deplored  the 
waste  of  men  and  material  resources,  conseqvient  on  this 
\mnatural  condition  of  affairs.  It  declared  that  "  the 
supreme  duty  to-day  imposed  upon  all  States"  is  "to  put 
an  end  to  these  incessant  armaments  and  to  seek  the  means 
of  warding  off  the  calamities  which  are  threatening  the 
whole  world."  In  dignified  terms,  such  as  a  mighty  empire 
dreading  no  superior  alone  could  use,  it  proposed  a  con- 
ference of  all  the  Powers  "  to  occupy  itself  with  this  grave 
problem  of  universal  peace."  Whatever  the  outcome  of  the 
conference,  the  proposition  is  a  blessed  augury  for  the 
twentieth  century. 


88  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1839. 


XI 

THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE 

The  Hatti  Sherif  of  Ghul  Khaneh  (1839).— Two  days 
after  the  battle  of  Nezib,  while  the  victorious  Egyptians 
were  marching  upon  Constantinople,  Sultan  Mahmoud  died. 
Only  the  interference  of  the  European  powers  checked  their 
advance  and  preserved  the  throne  to  his  son,  Sultan  Abd-ul 
Medjid.  Tliough  failing  in  almost  every  enterprise  he 
undertook,  Mahmoud  had  made  earnest  efforts  to  reform 
the  empire.  His  successor  inherited  his  ideas.  At  the 
summer  palace  of  Ghul  Khaneh,  in  the  presence  of  the 
foreign  diplomatic  body,  of  the  heads  of  the  various  sub- 
ject churches,  of  deputations  from  all  the  guilds,  and  of  the 
great  dignitaries,  ecclesiastical,  military  and  civil,  of  the 
Ottoman  state,  his  Hatti  Sherif,  or  Sacred  Proclamation, 
was  read  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Reshid  Pasha 
(November  3,  1839).  Everything  was  done  to  give  solem- 
nity and  a  binding  character  to  this  rescript.  It  concluded 
with  a  prayer  and  an  imprecation,  and  the  vast  assembly  of 
Moslems,  Christians  and  Jews  responded  "Amen." 

This  was  the  first  formal  acknowledgment  of  abuses  and 
the  first  official  declaration  of  a  purpose  to  reform  that  was 
ever  made  by  an  Ottoman  sovereign.  It  guaranteed  security 
of  life,  property  and  honor  to  all  subjects  of  the  empire,  a 
uniform  and  just  taxation  and  uniformity  in  conscription 
and  military  service.  It  suppressed  monopolies,  pro- 
nounced that  all  court  trials  be  public,  removed  restrictions 
from  the  sale  and  purchase  of  real  estate,  and  ordered  that 
the  property  of  criminals  be  no  longer  confiscated  but 
handed  over  to  their  natural  heirs.  These  measures  were 
aimed  at  correcting  those  violations  of  justice  from  which 
Christians  and  Mussulmans  suffered  in  common.  Its  most 
important  provision  declared  that  henceforth  Mussulman 
and  Christian  subjects  should  be  equal  before  the  law. 
Hitherto  the  theory  and  practice  since  the  foundation  of 
the  empire  had  been  flagrant  inequality  between  the  adhe- 


A.D.  1840-1854.]  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE  89 

rents  of  the  two  religions.  For  example,  the  testimony  of  a 
Christian  was  not  admissible  in  court  against  a  Mussulman. 
A  Christian  could  only  hire  Mussulman  witnesses,  who 
were  allowed  to  testify  for  him. 

The  Christians  regarded  the  Hatti  Sherif  with  mixed 
hope  and  incredulity.  It  enraged  the  Mussulmans,  who 
believed  that  equality  between  them  and  the  giaours  was  a 
contradiction  of  the  Koran  as  well  as  of  all  their  past  his- 
tory. But  in  Christian  Europe,  accustomed  to  see  promises 
followed  by  deeds,  it  caused  a  profound  and  favorable 
impression. 

Massacres  in  the  Lebanon  (1845).  —  The  Sultan,  well 
meaning  but  feeble,  made  only  desultory  efforts  to  put  his 
proclamation  into  effect.  In  most  localities  it  remained  a 
dead  letter.  In  others  it  stirred  up  the  Moslems  to  prove 
that  there  had  been  no  change  in  the  old  order.  The  region 
of  Lebanon  was  inhabited  by  many  religious  sects.  Among 
the  more  powerful  were  the  Catholic  Maronites,  who  enjoyed 
the  protection  of  France,  and  the  Druses,  a  wild  tribe  of 
heretical  Mussulmans,  followers  of  the  mad  Caliph  Hakim. 
Under  their  leader,  the  Sheik  Abou  Naked,  the  Druses 
made  a  sudden  attack.  His  followers  had  strict  orders  to 
harm  only  the  Catholics,  for  then  as  always  there  was 
method  in  a  Mussulman  massacre.  Every  conceivable 
horror  marked  the  passage  of  the  bandit  chief.  He  spared 
neither  sex  nor  age.  The  government  forbade  the  Maron- 
ites to  defend  themselves,  but  told  them  to  trust  in  the 
padishah.  The  Turkish  soldiers,  sent  to  preserve  order, 
remained  inactive  or  openly  sided  with  the  Druses.  The 
French  missionary  stations  were  destroyed,  their  churches 
and  convents  sacked  and  priests  murdered.  M.  Guizot, 
then  prime  minister  of  France,  dared  not  interfere.  The 
French  ambassador  at  Constantinople,  M.  de  Bourqueney, 
was  bolder.  He  sent  a  peremptory  message  to  the  Porte. 
The  massacres  ceased.  New  measures  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Lebanon  were  introduced  and  a  degree  of  tran- 
quillity was  restored. 

Question  of  the  Holy  Places.  The  Crimean  War  (1853- 
185()).  — Tliis  subject  has  been  sufficiently  discussed  in  the 
chapters  on  the  second  French  empire  and  Russia.  Save 
at  its  beginning  the  Turks  played  an  insignificant  and 
humiliating  part  in  the  war.  Their  assistance  seemed  as 
much  disdained  by  the  British  and  French  troops  as  their 


90  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1855-1858. 

resistance  had  been  by  the  Russians.  Before  the  arrival  of 
their  allies  the  Ottoman  commander-in-chief,  Omar  Pasha, 
a  Christian  renegade,  had  shown  ability  on  the  Danube. 
The  successful  defence  of  Silistria,  where  six  assaults  of  the 
Russian  army  were  repulsed,  was  honorable  to  Turkish 
arms.  In  signing  the  offensive  and  defensive  treaty  with 
Great  Britain  and  France,  the  Porte  promised  to  accomplish 
the  following  reforms :  "  Equality  before  the  law  and  eligi- 
bility to  all  offices  of  all  Ottoman  subjects  without  distinc- 
tion of  religion;  admission  of  Christian  testimony  in  court; 
establishment  of  mixed  tribunals;  abolition  of  the  kharadj 
or  exemption  tax." 

The  Hatti  Humayoun  (1856). —  The  Hatti  Sherif  of 
Ghul  Khaneh  had  proved  abortive.  The  abyss  still  yawned 
unbridged  between  the  Mussulmans  and  the  Christians. 
Language  can  hardly  set  forth  the  sense  of  superiority 
among  the  former.  The  cadi  of  Mardin  in  1855  gave  a 
permit  for  the  interment  of  a  Christian  in  the  following 
words :  "  Permission  to  the  priest  of  Mary  to  bury  the  im- 
pure and  offensive  carcass  of  Saidah,  who  went  to  hell  this 
very  day.  Signed,  Said  MehemedFaize."  In  its  language 
and  its  sentiment  toward  their  subjects,  this  paper  was 
typical  of  the  ruling  race.  A  Hatti  Humayoun,  or  Imperial 
Proclamation,  was  issued  on  February  18,  1856.  It  reaf- 
firmed and  extended  all  the  glittering  generalities  of  the 
Hatti  Sherif.  It  forbade  all  distinction  between  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  two  religions.  All  Christian  subjects  had 
hitherto  been  excluded  from  the  ranks.  It  now  opened  to 
them  not  only  military  service,  but  attainment  of  the  high- 
est grades.  To  this  provision  Mussulmans  and  Christians 
united  in  opposition.  The  former  were  unwilling  to  obey 
officers  of  the  subject  Christian  nationalities  or  to  serve 
with  them  in  the  troops.  The  latter  preferred  still  to  pay 
the  exemption  tax  and  had  no  wish  to  fight  for  a  govern- 
ment they  abhorred. 

Massacres  at  Djeddah  (1858)  and  in  Syria  (1860).  Euro- 
pean Intervention.  —  It  is  a  peculiar  fact  that  the  Crimean 
War  stimulated  the  hatred  of  the  Turks  for  all  foreign 
Christians,  for  the  British  and  French  even  more  than  for 
the  Russians.  Their  pride  was  stung  on  seeing  the  crushing 
superiority  in  the  civilization  and  power  of  the  Western 
nations.  This  sullen  hatred  was  diffused  throughout  the 
empire  and  grew  all  the  more  intense,  because  they  realized 


A.D.  1858-18G1.]  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE  91 

that  those  detested  foreign  Christians  looked  on  them 
with  contempt. 

At  Djeddah,  in  Arabia  (July  15,  1858),  the  wild  exhor- 
tations of  some  dervishes  excited  a  crowd  of  pilgrims  to 
attack  the  foreigners.  The  consul  of  France  and  vice-con- 
sul of  Great  Britain  were  massacred  while  trying  to  protect 
their  countrymen.  The  bombardment  of  the  city  by  an 
Anglo-French  squadron  (July  25)  and  the  hanging  of  ten 
of  the  murderers  made  only  a  slight  impression. 

An  explosion  followed  on  a  larger  scale  in  Syria.  The 
Druses,  though  comparatively  quiet  since  1845,  were  no 
less  envenomed  against  the  Christians,  Khourshid  Pasha, 
governor-general  of  Bei'rout,  and  Achmet  Pasha,  com- 
mander of  the  army  of  Arabistan,  encouraged  them  to 
action.  Speedily  (May,  1860)  the  Lebanon  and  the  neigh- 
boring country  were  drenched  with  blood.  Greed  and  lust 
multiplied  the  bands  of  the  fanatics.  With  every  attendant 
horror  entire  villages  were  blotted  out.  The  Bedouins  of 
the  desert  joined  hands  with  the  Druses  of  the  mountain, 
Damascus  was  as  sanguinary  as  the  Lebanon,  Only  the 
British  and  Prussian  consulates  were  respected.  The  Otto- 
man troops  were  not  behind  in  murder  and  pillage.  It  is 
impossible  to  tell  how  many  thousands  were  slain  or  died 
of  exposure.  The  Emir  Abd-el-Kader,  who  for  sixteen  years 
had  defended  his  country  of  Algeria  against  the  French, 
was  then  living  in  Damascus.  At  peril  of  his  life,  with  a 
band  of  followers,  he  protected  as  many  Christian  fugitives 
as  he  could  and  lavished  his  resources  in  their  support. 

Europe  shuddered  at  these  atrocities.  Lord  Palmerston 
denounced  them  in  Parliament.  By  a  convention  between 
Great  Britain  and  France,  which  the  Porte  was  obliged  to 
approve,  6000  French  troops  were  sent  to  Syria.  They 
were  potent  arguments  in  favor  of  justice  and  order.  Fuad 
Pasha,  Ottoman  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  was  given  full 
authority  to  punish  the  criminals.  Marshal  Achmet  Pasha 
was  tried  and  shot.  Khourshid  Pasha  was  condemned  to 
prison.  Eighty-five  Mussulmans  on  conviction  were  put 
to  death.  Such  interference  was  effectual.  The  Lebanon 
became,  and  has  continued  to  be,  one  of  the  most  orderly 
and  peaceful  provinces  of  the  empire.  By  decision  of  the 
great  Powers  it  has  since  been  ruled  by  a  Christian  gov- 
ernor. The  French  corps  of  occupation  returned  home  in 
1861. 


92  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1861-1868. 

Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz  (1861-1876).  —Sultan  Abd-ul  Medjid 
died  ill  June,  1861.  His  reign  of  twenty-two  years  was 
filled  with  good  intentions  without  accomplishment.  His 
brother,  Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz,  who  succeeded,  was  of  stronger 
fibre.  But  kept  in  extreme  seclusion,  constantly  under 
watch,  he  was  as  ignorant  as  a  child  of  what  went  on  in  the 
Ottoman  Empire  or  the  outer  world.  On  his  accession  he 
repeated  all  the  customary  glowing  promises  of  reform. 
More  extravagant  even  than  his  brother,  his  prodigality 
bordered  on  madness.  Enormous  sums  were  squandered 
in  erecting  palaces,  of  which  he  often  tired  before  they 
were  complete.  His  harem  of  900  women  was  served  by 
3000  attendants.  Moustapha  Fazyl  Pasha,  accountant  gen- 
eral, in  an  interview  with  the  Sultan  hinted  at  the  danger 
of  national  bankruptcy.  He  was  exiled  for  his  rashness. 
The  machinery  of  government  was  kept  in  motion  by  two 
capable  men,  Fuad  Pasha  and  Ali  Pasha.  The  latter  was 
one  of  the  ablest  statesmen  Turkey  ever  produced.  Strictly 
honest,  inaccessible  to  a  bribe,  he  was  moreover  a  tireless 
worker.  Provincial  rebellions  and  petty  wars  kept  him 
constantly  busy. 

The  Insurrection  of  Crete  (1866-1868).  —During  the  last 
sixty  years  insurrection  was  the  chronic  condition  of  Crete. 
In  1866,  as  before  in  1821,  in  1841  and  1858,  it  assumed  a 
more  general  and  threatening  form.  Never  were  the  200, 000 
Christians,  who  formed  two-thirds  of  the  population,  more 
cruelly  and  more  unjustly  governed.  Their  complaints  to 
Constantinople  against  their  inhuman  governor,  Ismail 
Pasha,  had  only  called  out  vague  promises  of  improvement 
and  a  stern  menace  that  they  must  submit  to  the  officers  of 
the  Sultan.  The  Cretans  got  together  a  general  assembly 
which  declared  them  independent  and  pronounced  for  union 
with  Greece.  In  the  mountains  of  Sphakia,  the  western 
part  of  the  island  which  never  had  been  thoroughly  sub- 
dued, they  carried  on  a  guerilla  war.  They  routed  detach- 
ment after  detachment  sent  against  them,  forced  the 
capitulation  of  Ismail  Pasha  and  destroyed  another  Turkish 
division  at  Selino.  Kiritli  Pasha  was  sent  as  a  dictator 
with  40,000  men.  He  fared  no  better,  nor  did  Omar  Pasha, 
the  Turkish  generalissimo,  who  replaced  him.  France, 
Italy,  Prussia  and  Russia  proposed  the  appointment  of  an 
international  commission  to  administer  the  island.  Great 
Britain  and  Austria  opposed  the  proposition,  and  it  was 


A.D.  1869.]  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE  93 

rejected  by  the  Sultan.  War  seemed  imminent  between 
Turkey  and  Greece,  but  the  latter  power  was  kept  from 
action  by  France  and  Great  Britain.  From  America  gener- 
ous sums  were  sent  to  relieve  the  distress  among  the  Cretan 
refugees,  but  Europe  looked  on  in  general  apathy.  By  the 
employment  of  all  its  resources  the  Ottoman  Empire  at  last 
quieted  the  insurrection  for  a  time.  At  the  convent  of 
Arcadion  the  Cretans  made  their  final  stand.  As  the  Turks 
crossed  the  last  trench  over  the  bodies  of  its  last  defenders, 
the  Cretan  women  set  fire  to  the  powder  in  the  vaults  and 
blew  up  themselves  and  their  conquerors. 

Opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  (November  17,  1869). — This 
year  the  great  enterprise  of  M.  de  Lesseps,  though  still  in- 
complete, was  so  far  advanced  as  to  be  passable  by  ships. 
Its  various  stages  of  construction  had  already  occupied 
twenty  years.  By  connecting  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Medi- 
terranean, it  converted  Africa  into  the  vastest  of  the  island 
continents.  In  prolonging  its  entire  length  100  miles,  over 
80,000,000  cubic  yards  of  earth  and  rock  had  been  removed. 
On  it  had  been  expended  about  f  95,000,000.  The  only 
share  of  Turkey  in  the  achievement  was  found  in  the  fact 
that  Ismail  Pasha,  viceroy  of  Egypt  and  the  earnest  pro- 
moter of  the  enterprise,  was  a  vassal  of  the  Sultan.  At  the 
formal  opening  almost  all  the  maritime  nations  were  rep- 
resented by  warships,  which  passed  through  the  canal  in 
an  imposing  and  memorable  procession.  The  occasion  was 
honored  by  the  presence  of  European  sovereigns,  among 
them  Empress  Eugenie  and  the  emperor  of  Austria- 
Hungary. 

Foreign  Loans  and  Bankruptcy.  —  In  1851,  during  the 
exigencies  of  the  Crimean  War,  the  government  obtained  a 
foreign  loan  of  £5,000,000.  The  next  year  it  borrowed  a 
like  amount.  Almost  to  its  surprise  it  found  foreign  capi- 
talists not  only  willing  but  desirous  to  advance  their  money 
in  return  for  its  promise  to  pay.  With  that  thoughtless- 
ness of  the  morrow  which  characterizes  the  Ottoman,  it 
was  of  all  others  the  easiest  and  most  agreeable  way  to 
obtain  a  revenue.  By  March,  1865,  the  entire  public  debt 
amounted  to  about  £36,700,000. 

Within  the  next  ten  years  the  total  of  foreign  indebted- 
ness had  grown  to  nearly  if  not  quite  £230,000,000.  That 
is,  it  had  increased  in  the  proportion  of  about  £20,000,000 
a  year!     To  show  for  it  there  were  only  a  few  elegant  but 


94  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a. d.  1875-1876. 

useless  edifices  here  and  there  and  a  fleet  of  equally  useless 
ironclads,  always  anchored  in  a  majestic  semi-circle  along 
the  Bosphorus  in  front  of  the  palace  of  the  Sultan,  not  for 
his  protection  but  for  his  amusement.  It  is  impossible  to 
describe  the  levity  with  which  those  enormous  sums  had 
been  squandered.  When  the  daughter  of  Sultan  Abd-ul 
Medjid  was  married  to  Ali  Galib  Pasha,  over  $7,000,000 
were  expended  on  the  trousseau  of  the  bride. 

The  day  of  reckoning  came  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  after  that  first  loan  of  1854.  Up  to  1875  the  in- 
terest had  always  been  promptly  paid,  even  if  a  new  loan 
was  necessary  to  obtain  the  funds.  At  last  even  the  in- 
terest could  no  longer  be  provided  for.  On  October  6, 
1875,  the  grand  vizir,  Mahmoud  Nedim  Pasha,  announced 
that  the  state  was  bankrupt.  He  considered  himself  in  no 
small  degree  justified  for  partial  repudiation  by  the  fact 
that  the  nominal  sums  had  by  no  means  been  received,  the 
later  loans  especially  being  effected  at  ruinous  rates,  and 
that  the  interest  already  paid  on  certain  loans  was  larger 
than  the  original  amount. 

Death  of  Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz.  —  The  troubles  in  Herze- 
govina (1875),  the  massacres  in  Bulgaria  (1875),  and  the 
war  with  Montenegro  and  Servia  (1876-1877)  make  the  last 
years  in  the  reign  of  Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz  to  be  long  remem- 
bered. Ali  Pasha,  Fuad  Pasha,  General  Omar  Pasha,  all 
his  tried  statesmen  and  supporters,  were  dead.  The  grand 
vizir,  Mahmoud  Nedim  Pasha,  was  the  creature  of  General 
Ignatieff,  the  Russian  ambassador.  The  empire  was  in  a 
condition  hardly  better  than  anarchy  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  The  long  patience,  even  of  the  Mussulmans,  was  ex- 
hausted. The  softas  or  theological  students  terrified  the 
Sultan  into  the  appointment  of  ministers  of  their  choice. 
A  few  days  later  the  Sheik-ul-Islam  gave  a  fetva  approving 
his  deposition.  Midhat  Pasha,  an  energetic  man  whose 
government  of  several  provinces  had  been  signalized  by 
violent  reforms,  headed  a  conspiracy.  The  Sultan  was 
quietly  dethroned  (May  24,  1876).  A  few  days  later  he 
was  found  dead.  The  court  physicians  declared  he  had 
committed  suicide. 

He  visited  the  International  Exposition  at  Paris  in 
1867,  being  the  only  Ottoman  sovereign  who  in  peaceful 
fashion  had  set  foot  in  a  foreign  country.  But  he  learned 
nothing  in  his  travels  and  brought  back  only  added  aversion 


A.D.  187&-1877.]  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE  95 

to  Western  ways.  His  one  success  was  in  humbling  the 
viceroy  of  Egypt,  his  vassal,  on  whom  he  had  previously 
bestowed  the  almost  regal  title  of  khedive.  He  compelled 
him  to  reduce  his  army,  surrender  his  ironclads  and  abstain 
from  exercising  the  attributes  of  sovereignty.  It  had  been 
his  lifelong  ambition  to  assure  the  succession  to  his  son, 
Yusuf  Izeddin,  thus  setting  aside  the  Ottoman  custom,  which 
vests  the  inheritance  in  the  oldest  member  of  a  dynasty 
and  not  in  direct  descent.  By  his  deposition  all  his  careful 
plans  were  brought  to  naught.  His  nephew.  Sultan  Mourad 
V,  was  at  once  proclaimed.  The  excitement  caused  by  the 
tragic  death  of  his  uncle  and  by  the  assassination  of  some  of 
his  ministers  at  a  cabinet  meeting  unsettled  his  reason. 
He  was  removed  by  the  sultan-maker,  Midhat  Pasha,  and 
his  brother.  Sultan  Abd-ul  Hamid  II,  reigned  in  his  stead. 

The  Reign  of  Sultan  Abd-ul  Hamid  II  (1876-1898).  —No 
other  Sultan  in  the  Mosque  of  Eyoub  ever  girded  on  the 
sword  of  Osman  —  the  Turkish  equivalent  of  coronation  — 
in  national  conditions  so  appalling. 

Kebellion  was  rampant  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  and 
imminent  in  Arabia.  Montenegro  and  Servia  had  declared 
war  and  the  Turks  believed  that  Europe,  and  certainly  Kus- 
sia,  were  about  to  do  the  same.  The  horrors  of  Bulgarian 
massacres  had  shocked  and  for  a  time  alienated  the  empire's 
most  persistent  friends.  The  civil  and  military  service  was 
everywhere  in  utter  confusion.  The  prodigality  of  preced- 
ing reigns  had  impoverished  the  people  and  brought  on 
bankruptcy,  which  made  further  foreign  loans  impossible. 
There  was  no  money  to  pay  the  troops.  The  ironclads  could 
not  move  for  lack  of  coal.  The  young  Turkey  party,  com- 
posed largely  of  Moslems  who  had  lived  abroad,  not  numer- 
ous but  noisy,  demanded  thorough  renovation  of  the  empire. 
The  vast  majority  of  the  Mussulmans,  as  bigoted  as  they 
were  ignorant,  denounced  even  the  pretence  of  reform.  To 
them  Sultan  Mahmoud  and  Sultan  Abd-ul  Med j id  were  little 
better  than  giaours.  In  their  judgment  the  abandonment 
by  recent  Sultans  of  the  principles  and  practice  of  early 
days  was  wholly  responsible  for  national  decline.  Their 
fierce  fanaticism  was  as  dangerous  as  foreign  attack.  Par- 
tisans of  the  dead  Abd-ul  Aziz  were  plotting  to  enthrone  his 
son,  Yusuf  Izeddin.  Partisans  of  the  crazy  Mourad  were 
plotting  his  restoration.  Midhat  had  deposed  two  sultans. 
Two  dethronements  in  four  months  had  made  the  idea  of 


96  CONTEMPORART  HISTORY         [a.d.  187C-1881. 

revolution  grimly  familiar.  What  Midhat  Pasha  had  done 
twice  he  was  capable  of  doing  again.  When  Abd-ul  Hamid 
ascended  the  throne  in  1876  it  was  a  common  belief  that  he 
would  not  occupy  it  a  year. 

In  December  the  formal  conference  of  ambassadors  opened 
at  Constantinople.  The  Ottomans  were  not  allowed  repre- 
sentation at  the  sessions.  The  very  day  the  delegates  as- 
sembled salvos  of  artillery  hailed  the  proclamation  of  a 
Constitution  by  the  Sultan.  This  Constitution  was  most 
comprehensive  and  liberal.  It  was  based  upon  the  equality 
of  all  men  and  the  sanctity  of  individual  rights.  It  intro- 
duced the  representative  system.  There  was  to  be  a  senate, 
named  for  life  by  the  Sultan,  and  a  chamber  of  deputies, 
holding  office  for  four  years.  The  system  of  election  was 
by  universal  suffrage  and  ballot.  There  was  to  be  one 
deputy  for  every  50,000  Ottoman  "citizens." 

Tlie  Turks  met  the  memorandum  containing  the  definite 
propositions  of  the  conference  by  counter  propositions  and 
pointed  as  a  guarantee  to  their  newly  granted  Constitution. 
"Few  countries  enjoy  such  a  constitution  as  ours,"  said 
Midhat  Pasha  gravely  to  the  ambassadors.  The  success  of 
Turkish  diplomacy  during  this  century  has  been  due  to  a 
simple  and  invariable  policy.  In  any  emergency  by 
specious  promises  it  has  sought  to  gain  time,  and  the  time 
thus  gained  it  has  utilized  in  playing  off  the  Powers  against 
one  another.  The  conference  formulated  an  ultimatum. 
Midhat  Pasha  submitted  this  ultimatum  to  a  national  as- 
sembly of  180  Mussulman  and  sixty  Christian  notables. 
Only  the  one  delegate,  the  head  of  the  native  Protestant 
community,  dared  vote  for  its  acceptance.  The  other  nota- 
bles declared  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  Ottoman  Constitu- 
tion and  must  hence  be  refused.  Then  the  ambassadors 
quitted  Constantinople,  but  dissensions  had  arisen  among 
them  and  they  were  not  in  harmony  as  to  the  ultimatum 
they  had  proposed.  The  Russo-Turkish  war  of  1877-1878 
and  its  consequences  are  described  in  the  chapter  on  Russia. 

The  conclusion  of  the  war  did  not  bring  internal  peace 
to  the  broken  empire.  Soon  the  Albanians  rebelled  and 
murdered  Mehemet  Ali  Pasha,  who  had  been  sent  to  make 
amicable  arrangements  with  them  (1881).  The  Arabs,  who 
had  always  looked  down  on  their  Turkish  masters  and  lost 
no  opportunity  to  weaken  their  authority,  gave  constant 
trouble  and  were  subdued  at  great  cost.     For  a  moment,  on 


A.D.  1882-1897.]  THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE  97 

the  occupation  of  Egypt  by  the  British  (1882),  the  Sultan 
was  on  the  point  of  declaring  war  against  Great  Britain, 
but  more  prudent  counsels  prevailed.  The  Armenian  mas- 
sacres of  1894-1896,  rivalling  the  atrocities  of  the  time  of 
the  Greek  revolution  and  exceeding  in  horror  the  massacres 
in  Syria  and  Bulgaria,  roused  the  indignation  of  the  civil- 
ized world.  But  this  time  no  foreign  nation  was  ready  to 
do  more  than  exchange  diplomatic  notes  and  employ  diplo- 
matic pressure.  The  promises  of  1868  to  Crete  were  habitu- 
ally ignored.  The  Cretan  insurrections  of  1877,  1885,  1887 
and  1889  were  succeeded  by  what  seemed  a  life-and-death 
struggle  in  1895  and  1896.  Again  the  government  promised 
reforms,  forwarded  a  specious  programme  and  appointed  a 
Christian  governor.  The  Cretans  despised  pledges  which 
had  been  violated  so  often  and  demanded  annexation  to 
Greece.  The  Greek  government  sent  Prince  George  with  a 
torpedo  flotilla  and  Colonel  Vassos  with  1500  troops  to  the 
assistance  of  their  brethren  (February,  1897).  Now  a  real 
concert  of  Europe  was  brought  about,  not  to  restrain  des- 
potism, but  to  crush  men  fighting  for  liberty.  The  iron- 
clads of  Austria-Hungary,  France,  Germany,  Great  Britain, 
Italy  and  Russia  blockaded  Crete,  landed  a  force  of  3600 
men  and  bombarded  the  insurgents  who  had  gained  control 
of  almost  the  whole  island.  The  war  of  1897  between 
Greece  and  Turkey  was  the  result. 

At  first  Sultan  Abd-ul  Hamid  II  was  only  a  phantom 
upon  the  throne.  Were  he  really  to  reign,  it  was  necessary 
to  break  the  virtual  dictatorship  of  Midhat  Pasha,  who  was 
a  tool  of  Great  Britain  as  Mahmoud  Nedim  Pasha  had  been 
of  Russia.  Reports,  skilfully  put  in  circulation,  and  the 
arrogant  bearing  of  the  Pasha,  sapped  his  popularity. 
Suddenly  arrested  at  midnight  (February,  1877)  he  was 
obliged  to  give  up  the  seals  of  office  and  go  at  once  into 
exile.  Later  on  he  was  recalled  and  made  governor  of 
Smyrna.  Accused  of  the  murder  of  Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz, 
he  was  tried  and  convicted.  The  sentence  of  death  was 
remitted  and  he  was  banished  to  Arabia,  where  he  died. 
All  the  men  who  had  conspired  against  Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz 
and  Sultan  Mourad  V  and  all  the  prominent  partisans  of 
those  sovereigns  were  gradually  stripped  of  power.  The 
Sultan  took  the  entire  administration  upon  himself.  By 
a  revolution,  as  silent  as  it  was  slow  and  effectual,  all  real 
authority  was  removed  from  the  grand  vizier  and  centred  in 


98  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY        [a.d.  1876-1898. 

his  own  hands.  The  palace  superseded  the  Porte.  The 
cabinet  officers  became  hardly  more  than  the  Sultan's  sec- 
retaries, the  two  essentials  for  their  continuance  in  office 
being  ability  and  subservience.  Professing  no  admiration 
for  European  institutions,  he  emphasized  his  headship  of 
the  Moslems  as  their  caliph.  The  most  personal  of  per- 
sonal governments  ruled  and  still  rules  at  Yildiz  Kiosk. 
But  inherent  in  it  are  all  the  radical  and  fatal  evils  of 
absolutism. 

*'  Laborious  but  ill-informed,"  the  Sultan,  though  shutting 
himself  in  Oriental  seclusion,  has  been  successful  in  con- 
trolling or  outwitting  the  foreign  ambassadors  who  were  in 
the  habit  of  domineering  over  his  predecessors.  For  a  few 
years  he  seemed  to  incline  to  France;  then  to  Great  Britain 
during  the  days  when  Lord  Dufferin  and  Sir  William  White 
were  British  ambassadors;  since  1891  to  Kussia.  The  ex- 
ample of  frugality  and  economy,  set  by  the  Sultan,  is  in 
marked  contrast  to  all  past  Ottoman  history.  Eeorganized 
by  German  officers,  the  efficiency  of  the  army  has  been 
greatly  increased.  The  Ottoman  Empire  is  to-day  stronger 
and  more  formidable,  despite  its  loss  of  territory,  than  it 
has  been  at  any  time  since  the  battle  of  Navarino,  seventy- 
one  years  ago.  But  the  Ottoman  parliament  ended  its  brief 
existence  with  its  second  session  (1880)  and  there  is  little 
discussion  of  "reforms." 


A..D.  1848.]  THE  BALKAN  STATES  99 


XII 

THE  BALKAN  STATES 
(1848-1898) 

The  Five  States,  Roumania,  Montenegro,  Servia,  Bul- 
garia, Greece.  —  These  have  all  been  carved  during  the 
present  century  out  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Montenegro 
indeed  always  asserted  her  independence,  but  was  none  the 
less  reckoned  a  subject  territory  by  the  Sultan.  Greece 
achieved  national  existence  by  the  revolution  which  began 
in  1821  and  lasted  seven  years.  In  1848  the  three  other 
states  were  in  different  stages  of  subjection.  Bulgaria  was 
hardly  more  than  a  tradition.  Her  boundaries  had  been 
blotted  out  and  her  people  utterly  reduced  when  she  was 
added  to  other  Ottoman  conquests  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
Servia  was  an  autonomous  province,  with  a  native  prince, 
but  paying  tribute  and  kept  in  check  by  Turkish  garrisons. 
Roumania  is  the  present  name  of  what  was  then  the  two 
provinces  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  including  all  the  Turk- 
ish possessions  north  of  the  Danube.  All  five  were  adher- 
ents of  the  Eastern  Orthodox,  or  Greek  Church,  but  were  of 
different  races.  The  Roumanians  were  the  mixed  descend- 
ants of  Dacians  and  Romans,  the  Greeks  were  Hellenic, 
and  the  Montenegrins,  Servians  and  Bulgarians  were  Slavs. 
Thus  there  were  three  ethnic  layers,  the  northern  or  Latin, 
the  central  or  Slavic,  and  the  southern  or  Greek.  Though 
partakers  in  the  common  distress,  brought  on  by  the  civil 
and  religious  despotism  under  which  they  lived,  they  looked 
on  one  another  with  jealousy  and  aversion  rather  than  sym- 
patliy  and  kindly  feeling. 

Roumania.  —  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  in  1848,  were  both 
under  the  tyrannical  rule  of  hospodars,  appointed  by  the 
Sultan.  The  shock  of  the  French  Revolution  reached  even 
the  Black  Sea.  Both  the  provinces  rose  and  drove  out  their 
governors.  The  Turks  marched  in  from  the  south  to  put 
down  the  rebellion,  whereupon  the  Russians  entered  from 


100  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1848-1866. 

the  east.  War  seemed  inevitable  between  Turkey  and  Rus- 
sia. It  was  averted  by  the  convention  of  Balta  Liman, 
which  stipulated  that  the  hospodars  in  future  should  be 
named  for  seven  years  by  the  Sultan  and  Tsar  conjointly, 
and  that  the  provinces,  while  vassals  of  the  Sultan,  should 
enjoy  the  protection  of  the  Tsar.  Tranquillity  existed  until 
the  Crimean  War,  after  which,  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  a 
collective  guarantee  of  the  great  Powers  was  substituted 
for  the  Russian  protectorate,  and  the  provinces  reverted  to 
the  control  of  the  Sultan.  A  portion  of  Russian  Bessarabia 
was  annexed  to  Moldavia,  so  that  the  Russian  frontier  should 
nowhere  touch  the  Danube. 

Disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  independence,  Moldavia 
and  Wallachia  were  clamorous  for  union  into  a  single  state. 

Their  desire  was  encouraged  by  France  and  Russia,  but 
opposed  by  Turkey,  Great  Britain  and  Austria,  who  were 
unfavorable  to  any  measure  tending  to  increase  the  strength 
of  the  provinces.  A  plebiscite  resulted  in  an  almost  unani- 
mous declaration  for  union.  After  tedious  negotiations, 
occupying  several  years,  the  great  Powers  agreed  that  one 
central  committee  should  be  empowered  to  enact  common 
laws  for  the  two,  but  that  otherwise  they  should  exist  apart, 
each  choosing  its  own  provincial  assembly  and  prince. 
But  in  1859  the  two  elected  the  same  candidate,  Colonel 
Alexander  Couza,  whom  they  proclaimed  "Alexander  I, 
Prince  of  Roumania."  The  Sultan  interposed  every  objec- 
tion, but  finally  (1861)  recognized  him  "for  life,"  granting 
investiture,  and  receiving  the  same  tribute  as  before.  In 
1862  the  two  provincial  assemblies  fused  in  one  common 
national  assembly,  at  Bucharest.  Thus,  in  defiance  of 
diplomacy,  union  was  achieved. 

The  Roumanian  nobles  were  so  many  petty  despots,  while 
the  peasants  possessed  almost  no  civil  rights.  The  wealth  of 
the  country  was  in  the  hands  of  numerous  opulent  monaster- 
ies. Couza  abolished  feudal  privileges,  proclaimed  universal 
suffrage  and  confiscated  the  property  of  the  monasteries  to 
the  advantage  of  the  state.  Thus  the  nobility  and  clergy 
became  his  deadly  foes.  The  nobles,  in  return  for  an  in- 
demnity, were  obliged  to  abandon  a  large  part  of  their 
lands,  which  was  divided  among  the  peasants.  But  by 
declaring  tobacco  a  governmental  monopoly  he  alienated 
popular  support.  His  beneficent  measures  were  mixed  with 
tyranny.     Surprised  in  his  bedchamber  by  a  band  of  con- 


A.D.  1866-1898.]  THE  BALKAN  STATES  101 

spirators,  he  was  forced  to  abdicate  (February,  1866).  Aban- 
doned by  all,  he  went  into  exile. 

The  Chambers  chose  Prince  Philip,  of  Flanders,  brother 
of  the  king  of  Belgium,  as  his  successor.  On  his  declina- 
tion a  plebiscite  of  the  whole  country  elected  Prince  Charles 
of  Hohenzollern  (April  20) ,  A  European  conference  at  Paris 
declared  the  election  void,  but  Prince  Charles  was  advised 
by  Bismarck  to  ignore  its  decisions.  Traversing  Austria 
in  disguise,  he  received  an  enthusiastic  welcome  at  Bucha- 
rest (May  22).  The  Turks  had  watched  the  progress  of 
events  in  Roumania  with  anxiety,  but  had  always  been  dis- 
suaded from  action.  The  Powers  had  likewise  confined 
themselves  to  formal  expressions  of  dissatisfaction.  This 
time  Sultan  Abd-ul  Aziz  determined  on  war.  Omar  Pasha 
massed  a  formidable  army  on  the  Danube.  But  the  vic- 
tory gained  at  Sadowa  by  Prussia,  of  whom  Charles  was 
the  proteg^,  and  the  troubles  in  Crete,  prevented  interfer- 
ence. He  was  formally  recognized  as  Prince  of  Roumania 
by  both  the  Sultan  and  all  Europe  (October).  His  marriage 
with  the  Princess  of  Wied,  in  1869,  seemed  to  confirm  his 
dynasty. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  Russo-Turkish  war  of  1877-1878, 
Roumania  proclaimed  herself  independent  (May  21,  1877). 
The  development  of  her  army  had  been  carefully  pursued 
by  her  new  ruler,  and  she  was  able  to  offer  Russia  valuable 
aid.  At  the  siege  of  Plevna,  where  Prince  Charles  was 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Russian  forces,  her  troops  dis- 
tinguished themselves  for  gallantry,  and  materially  con- 
tributed to  the  capture  of  Osman  Pasha  and  his  entire 
command.  In  1881  the  representatives  of  .the  nation  de- 
clared Roumania  a  kingdom,  under  Charles  I  as  king. 
Disappointed  of  issue,  his  nephew.  Prince  Ferdinand,  in 
1888,  was  decreed  his  successor,  with  the  title  of  Prince  of 
Roumania.  Though  Queen  Elizabeth  had  given  her  hus- 
band no  heir,  her  pronounced  Roumanian  sympathies  and 
popular  ways  have  materially  strengthened  his  throne. 
Under  her  pseudonym  of  ''  Carmen  Sylva,"  her  stories  and 
poems  have  added  to  the  reputation  of  Roumania  abroad. 
Save  during  one  brief  period  of  glorious  war,  the  reign  of 
Charles  I  has  been  devoted  to  the  peaceful  solution  of  in- 
ternal questions  and  to  internal  progress. 

The  position  of  Roumania,  midway  between  Russia  and 
Austria-Hungary,  upon  the  lower  Danube,  on  the  road  to 


102  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY        [a.d.  1848-1898. 

Constantinople,  has  given  her  a  marked  strategic  impor- 
tance. To  Hungary  she  is  a  constant  menace.  Over 
2,500,000  Eoumanians  are  subjects  of  the  Hungarian  crown. 
To  reunite  them  all  under  one  flag  is  the  ambition  of  "  Rou- 
mania  irredenta." 

Montenegro.  —  In  1848  the  name  Montenegro,  or  Czrna- 
gora,  was  applied  to  a  territory  of  less  than  1500  square 
miles,  a  mass  of  rocky  and  lofty  mountains  west  of  Albania, 
inhabited  by  107,000  human  beings.  The  history  of  the 
country  has  been  one  long,  ferocious  heroism.  Such  of  the 
Servians  as  would  not  submit  had,  after  the  fatal  battle  of 
Kossova  (1389),  taken  refuge  in  its  fastnesses,  and  there 
maintained  an  invincible  resistance  to  the  Turks.  Their 
ruler,  the  vladika,  or  prince  bishop,  had  the  right  of  appoint- 
ing his  successor,  whom  he  chose  from  among  his  nephews. 
He  was  aided  in  administration  by  a  council  of  twelve  per- 
sons chosen  by  himself.  On  the  death  in  1851  of  Peter  II, 
who  had  been  an  able  warrior  and  statesman,  his  nephew, 
Danilo,  became  vladika.  In  the  great  charter  of  1852  he 
divested  himself  of  his  episcopal  functions,  asserted  his 
right  to  marry,  and  made  the  succession  hereditary.  Soon 
afterwards  the  Sultan  sent  Omar  Pasha  to  attack  him. 
Mirko,  the  elder  brother  of  the  prince,  in  a  three  months' 
campaign  slew  in  battle  4500  Turks  and  captured  900  pris- 
oners. Again  attacked  in  1858  by  vastly  superior  forces, 
the  Montenegrins  gained  the  decisive  battle  of  Grab  ova, 
where  more  than  3000  Turks  were  killed.  Two  years  after- 
wards Danilo  was  assassinated.  Leaving  no  son,  his  nephew, 
Nicholas  I,  succeeded.  Another  war  with  the  Turks  (1862) 
was  no  less  honorable  to  the  mountaineers. 

Thus  far  every  Montenegrin  was  an  armed  volunteer,  little 
susceptible  to  military  discipline  and  poorly  armed.  The 
fourth  Turkish  war  in  the  space  of  the  last  fifty  years  began 
in  1876.  Everywhere  successful,  though  against  desperate 
odds,  the  independence  of  Montenegro  was  acknowledged 
by  the  Sultan  in  1878.  In  the  preliminary  treaty  of  San 
Stephano,  Russia  obtained  such  concessions  for  the  heroic 
little  country  as  would  have  trebled  its  territory  and  doubled 
its  population.  Though  these  gains  were  largely  reduced 
by  the  treaty  of  Berlin,  it  eventually  acquired  the  port  of 
Dulcigno  on  the  Adriatic,  with  a  seaboard  of  almost  thirty 
miles. 

Prince  Nicholas  I  is  still  on  the  throne.     During  his  reign 


A.D.  1848-1869.]  THE  BALKAN  STATES  103 

of  thirty-eight  years  his  country  has  made  marked  progress 
in  civilization.  Himself  educated  in  Europe,  he  has  ren- 
dered education  compulsory,  and  carefully  encouraged  agri- 
culture among  his  warlike  people.  The  marriage  of  his 
daughter,  Helena,  to  the  Prince  of  Naples,  the  heir  of  the 
Italian  throne,  is  supposed  to  insure  Montenegro  an  ally 
against  Austria-Hungary,  who,  far  more  than  the  Ottoman 
Empire,  is  the  chief  enemy  of  Montenegrin  independence. 
Since  the  days  of  the  Tsar  Peter,  a  peculiar  attachment  has 
existed  between  Montenegro  and  Russia.  This  attachment 
has  at  no  time  been  stronger  than  to-day. 

Servia.  —  The  patriot  swineherd,  Kara  George,  gave  to  a 
part  of  Servia  a  political  existence  early  in  the  present  cen- 
tury. Defeated,  he  fled  from  the  country,  and  the  insurrec- 
tion was  headed  for  fifteen  years  by  Milosch  Obrenovitch. 
Worn  out  by  the  persistence  of  the  insurgents.  Sultan 
Mahmoud  (1830)  erected  the  revolted  territory  into  an 
autonomous  hereditary  principality,  and  appointed  Milosch 
its  governor.  Kara  George  returned,  but  Milosch  succeeded 
in  having  him  assassinated.  Since  then  the  feuds  of  the 
rival  Karageorgevitch  and  Obrenovitch  families  have  been 
a  main  factor  in  Servian  history.  Alternately  members  of 
the  two  houses  expelled  each  other  from  power  until  1859, 
when  Alexander  Karageorgevitch  was  a  second  time  deposed 
and  Michael  Obrenovitch  a  second  time  placed  in  control. 
Michael  was  assassinated  in  1868.  Alexander  in  his  absence 
was  declared  guilty  by  the  criminal  court  of  complicity  in 
the  crime. 

None  the  less  great  progress  had  been  made  meanwhile 
in  shaking  off  the  Turkish  yoke.  During  the  Cretan  trou- 
bles of  1867  the  Sultan,  to  propitiate  the  Servians  who 
threatened  to  join  the  Greeks,  withdrew  his  garrison  from 
the  citadel  of  Belgrade.  Michael  had  armed  his  people 
and  imposed  military  service  on  all  able-bodied  men.  He 
had  also  endeavored  to  introduce  some  civil  reforms  among 
his  people,  and  had  occasionally  convoked  the  Skoupchtina, 
or  legislative  body.  His  wise  measures  were  well  seconded 
by  M.  Garashanine,  who  showed  more  ability  than  any 
minister  whom  Servia  has  produced. 

Milan,  the  successor  of  the  murdered  ruler,  was  only 
fourteen  years  of  age.  The  regency  of  three  persons,  which 
ministered  affairs  during  his  minority,  proceeded  to  pro- 
mulgate a  liberal  constitution  (1869).     While  confiding  all 


104  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1869-1898. 

ordinary  power  conjointly  to  the  prince  and  a  Skoupchtina 
of  120  members,  it  provided  for  an  extraordinary  or  great 
assembly  of  480  members  in  cases  of  emergency.  Prince 
Milan  was  declared  of  age  in  1872.  Though  in  consequence 
of  the  Eusso-Turkish  war  of  1877-1878  the  independence  of 
Servia  was  acknowledged  by  the  Sultan,  and  the  state  in 
1882  proclaimed  itself  a  kingdom,  his  reign  was  tilled  with 
disgrace  and  disaster.  Nothing  but  the  intervention  of 
Russia  saved  Servia  from  destruction  by  the  Turks  in  1876. 
But  the  chief  humiliation  was  received  from  the  hands  of 
the  Bulgarians  at  Slivnitza  (1885).  This  time  she  was  de- 
livered from  the  consequences  of  a  shameful  defeat  by  the 
intervention  of  Austria.  The  scandalous  conduct  of  the 
king  toward  Queen  Natalie,  who  was  idolized  by  the  com- 
mon people,  still  further  increased  his  unpopularity.  Fi- 
nally he  obtained  a  divorce  of  questionable  validity  (1888), 
which  was  annulled  by  both  parties  in  1894. 

The  public  debt  had  enormously  increased  in  spite  of 
excessive  taxation.  Radical  measures  to  propitiate  the 
masses,  such  as  the  gi-anting  (1888)  of  a  still  more  demo- 
cratic constitution  than  that  of  1869,  did  not  allay  the 
universal  discontent.  The  choice  seemed  to  lie  between 
abdication  and  deposition.  Milan  chose  the  former.  He 
appointed  a  regency  and  proclaimed  his  son  Alexander, 
then  a  boy  of  twelve  (1889). 

The  young  king  has  shown  courage  and  energy.  Before 
he  was  seventeen  years  old  he  arrested,  at  his  own  table, 
the  regents  who  were  to  govern  during  his  minority.  The 
next  day  he  declared  himself  of  age  and  has  since  held  the 
reins.  In  the  following  year,  by  a  coup  d'etat,  he  abolished 
the  constitution  of  1888  and  restored  that  of  1869.  He  has 
also  shown  a  desire  for  amicable  relations  with  Bulgaria  and 
Montenegro. 

Servia  has  for  more  than  twenty  years  been  tormented  by 
the  ambition  to  act  the  role  of  a  Slavic  Piedmont.  But  she 
has  presented  no  Servian  Cavour,  nor  has  she  shown  such 
qualities  in  war  or  peace  as  to  indicate  her  fitness  for 
le-idership.  A  large  portion  of  old  Servia  is  still  under  the 
Sultan,  or  included  in  the  principality  of  Bulgaria.  Mean- 
wliile  the  bitter  contentions  of  the  three  parties,  the  radicals, 
the  progressists  and  the  liberals,  waste  her  energies  and 
paralyze  her  progress. 

Bulgaria.  —  The  last  fifty  years  have  brought  marvellous 


A.D.  1848-1876.]  THE  BALKAN  STATES  105 

changes  to  Bulgaria.  In  1848  there  seemed  no  hope  of 
political  resurrection.  Nowhere  did  the  Turkish  rule  press 
more  absolutely  and  cruelly,  yet  the  diffusion  of  the  Mus- 
sulmans all  over  the  country,  and  its  peculiar  strategic 
features,  rendered  successful  revolution  unlikely,  even  if 
insurrection  were  attempted.  Lost  in  a  mass  of  nameless 
rayahs,  many  Bulgarians  were  ignorant  of  their  own  race 
and  supposed  themselves  Greeks.  Their  ancient  literature 
had  been  destroyed  and  schools  had  hardly  begun  to  exist. 
Nor  did  they  have  that  strong  Eastern  bond  of  union  and 
guarantee  of  continued  national  existence  which  is  found 
in  the  possession  of  a  national  church.  Their  church  had 
been  blotted  out,  and  they  were  dependent  upon  the  Greek 
patriarch  at  Constantinople. 

But  here  and  there  the  people  were  stirring.  Bulgarian 
revolutionary  committees  began  to  be  formed  across  the 
Danube,  in  the  Roumanian  towns  of  Bucharest  and  Yassy. 
The  bishops  in  Bulgaria  were  almost  exclusively  Greeks. 
A  determined  effort  was  made  to  confer  their  sees  upon 
Bulgarians.  The  Turkish  government  was  entreated  to 
recognize  the  Bulgarian  Church.  After  contention  lasting 
twenty  years,  this  project,  obstinately  fought  against  by 
the  Greeks,  was  approved  by  the  Porte  (1870).  A  Bul- 
garian exarchate  was  created,  but  the  exarch  was  required 
to  reside  at  Constantinople.  There  had  been  no  change  of 
creed,  but  the  Greek  patriarch  excommunicated  all  persons 
connected  with  the  new  religious  organization. 

Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  the  British  ambassador,  looked  with 
apprehension  upon  every  indication  of  awakening  life  which 
might  ultimately  weaken  the  Ottoman  government.  On  his 
suggestion  over  500,000  wild  Tartars  and  Circassians  from 
the  Crimea  and  the  Caucasus  were  quartered  in  Bulgaria  to 
keep  the  people  in  check  (1859).  Midhat  Pasha  governed 
the  country  four  years.  Under  his  stern  but  enlightened 
rule  roads  were  constructed,  agriculture  protected  and  the 
general  condition  improved.  But  each  amelioration  only 
revealed  to  the  Bulgarians  how  wretched  was  their  lot. 

At  last  came  the  awful  massacres  of  1876.  It  was  the 
time  of  the  Bosnian  and  Herzegovinian  insurrection.  The 
Mussulman  government  and  people  were  suspicious  of 
the  slightest  movement  of  the  Christians.  Petty  outbreaks 
convinced  the  panic-stricken  grand  vizir,  Mahmoud  Nedira 
Pasha,  that  all  Bulgaria  was  rising.     He  let  loose  the  Cir- 


106  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY        [a.d.  1876-1881. 

cassians  and  Bashi  Bazouks  to  plunder  and  slaughter  witli- 
out  restraint.  For  three  months  there  was  a  carnival  of 
death  in  the  vain  attempt  to  exterminate  a  people.  Over 
20,000  persons  were  butchered.  The  consequence  was  the 
Russo-Turkish  war,  in  which  on  many  fields  Bulgarians 
fought  like  heroes.  The  treaty  of  San  Stephano  made 
Bulgaria  a  powerful  state,  stretching  from  the  Danube  to 
the  iEgean.  The  treaty  of  Berlin  greatly  reduced  its  size, 
and  by  unnatural  division  cut  it  into  parts :  Bulgaria,  north 
of  the  Balkans,  and  Eastern  Roumelia  on  the  south.  The 
former,  a  vassal  tributary  state,  was  to  elect  its  own  prince, 
who  should  be  confirmed  by  the  Sultan  with  the  assent  of 
the  Powers.  The  latter  was  to  remain  under  the  Sultan's 
direct  control.  He  was  to  appoint  over  it  a  Christian 
governor  for  a  term  of  five  years,  with  the  assent  of  the 
Powers. 

A  Constitution  was  adopted  at  Tirnova  by  an  assembly  of 
notables  (1879).  It  provided  for  a  Sobranie,  or  legislative 
assembly,  elected  by  popular  vote.  A  voter  must  be  thirty 
years  of  age  and  able  to  read  and  write.  The  prince  was 
to  be  commander  of  the  army.  The  ministers  named  by 
him  were  to  be  responsible  to  him  only.  Sophia  was  made 
the  capital.  The  election  of  a  prince  was  entrusted  to  an 
extraordinary  or  Grand  Sobranie,  which  is  convened  only  on 
special  occasions.  It  chose  Prince  Alexander,  of  Batten- 
burg,  then  an  officer  in  the  Prussian  army.  He  took  the 
oath  at  Tirnova,  on  July  9,  1879,  and  the  Eussian  army  of 
occupation  evacuated  the  country  one  week  later. 

Thus  Bulgaria  had  arisen  from  the  tomb  of  centuries, 
and  stood  forth  a  state  among  the  nations  with  a  sovereign 
and  Constitution  of  her  choice.  Her  people  had  no  experi- 
ence in  the  art  of  self-government,  but  their  patience  and 
practical  common  sense  were  to  stand  them  in  good  stead. 
There  was  no  proscription  of  Mussulmans  in  their  midst, 
despite  the  vivid  memory  of  recent  atrocities. 

The  overbearing  arrogance  of  the  Russians  made  the 
Bulgarians  forget  their  great  services.  Russians  crowded 
the  higher  offices  of  civil  and  military  administration  and 
treated  the  Bulgarians  with  contempt.  The  Eussian  diplo- 
matic agent,  M.  Hitrovo,  acted  like  a  master.  The  liberals, 
antagonists  of  Russia,  obtained  a  large  majority  in  the 
Sobranie  and  their  leader,  M.  Zankoff,  became  prime  min- 
ister.    Prince  Alexander,  by  a  coup  d'etat,  suspended  the 


A.D.  1881-1894.]  THE  BALKAN  STATES  107 

Constitution  (1881)  and  made  the  Russian  general,  Ernroth, 
prime  minister.  Two  years  afterwards  he  restored  it  and 
called  Zankoff  to  power. 

By  a  sudden  revolution  in  eastern  Eoumelia  (September 
18,  1885)  the  governor,  Gavril  Pasha,  was  expelled,  and 
the  union  of  the  two  Bulgarias  proclaimed.  Great  Britain 
approved  the  act.  It  was  denounced  by  Russia,  who  re- 
called every  Russian  officer  in  the  Bulgarian  army.  Servia 
looked  with  a  jealous  eye  on  the  creation  of  the  Bulgarian 
principality.  Its  union  with  eastern  Roumelia  roused  her 
to  exasperation.  Believing  the  moment  opportune,  while 
the  troops  of  her  rival  were  without  superior  officers,  she 
declared  war  and  crossed  the  frontier.  The  Bulgarians  rose 
as  one  man.  Alexander  proved  himself  an  able  leader. 
The  enemy  was  hurled  back.  Then  followed  the  three 
days'  battle  of  Slivnitza,  the  most  glorious  event  in  modern 
Bulgarian  history.  The  Servian  capital,  Belgrade,  was  res- 
cued from  capture  only  by  the  intervention  of  Austria. 

A  miserable  intrigue  deposed  and  exiled  the  prince  the 
following  year.  Recalled  to  the  throne,  he  abdicated  soon 
afterwards  (September  7,  1886),  through  dread  of  the  Tsar 
Alexander  III,  who  was  his  personal  enemy.  The  Tsar 
sent  General  Kaulbars  to  win  back  the  friendship  of  the 
Bulgarians.  The  unwise  and  brutal  conduct  of  the  envoy 
incensed  the  people,  until  at  last  he  and  all  the  Russian 
consular  agents  withdrew.  Finally  the  Grand  Sobranie 
elected  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Saxe-Qpburg-Gotha,  the  grand- 
son of  Louis  Philippe.  Russia  was  still  hostile,  so  he  could 
obtain  recognition  neither  from  the  Sultan  nor  the  Powers. 

For  more  than  seven  years  after  the  deposition  of  Prince 
Alexander,  M.  Stambouloff,  first  as  president  of  the  regency 
and  then  as  prime  minister,  was  the  real  ruler.  The  domi- 
nant idea  of  his  policy  was  the  independence  of  Bulgaria, 
not  only  from  Turkey,  but  from  the  diplomatic  interference 
of  Europe,  and  specially  of  Russia.  His  rule  was  vigorous 
and  despotic,  often  violent  and  unjust,  but  never  wavering. 
His  chief  success  was  in  securing  from  the  Sultan  the  ap- 
pointment of  Bulgarian  bishops  in  Macedonia.  But  he 
wore  out  all  his  early  popularity  and  became  intolerable  to 
the  prince.  An  angry  letter  of  resignation,  the  acceptance 
of  which  he  did  not  anticipate,  was  the  means  of  his  fall 
(May  31,  1894).  A  year  later  he  was  assassinated  in  the 
street.     Dr.  StoilofE,  a  highly  educated  and  patriotic  states- 


108  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1830-1862. 

man,  a  typical  Bulgarian  of  the  worthiest  type,  has  been 
prime  minister  since  1894.  Under  him  difficulties  with 
foreign  nations  have  been  smoothed  away,  the  prince  has 
been  recognized  by  the  Sultan  and  the  great  Powers,  and 
the  country  has  tranquilly  gone  on  in  the  path  of  progress. 

The  principality  does  not  include  all  the  Bulgarians. 
Many  are  found  on  the  west  and  south  under  the  rule  of 
Servia  or  Turkey.  In  Macedonia  the  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants are  Bulgarians,  and  the  ultimate  fate  of  that 
province  is  disputed  by  Bulgaria,  Servia  and  Greece. 

Greece.  — It  was  the  misfortune  of  Greece  that,  after  her 
emancipation  from  Turkey  had  been  recognized  (1830),  she 
was  compelled  to  organize  her  entire  administration  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  exigencies  of  the  great  Powers,  and  with 
no  regard  to  the  wishes  of  her  own  people.  Though  desir- 
ing a  republican  form  of  government,  she  was  forced  to 
accept  a  monarchy,  and  Prince  Otho,  a  Catholic  and  a 
Bavarian,  was  imposed  as  king  (1833).  For  ten  years  he 
ruled  as  a  foreign  despot  by  means  of  a  Bavarian  ministry 
and  Bavarian  army.  There  was  no  legislative  assembly 
and  no  constitution.  On  September  15,  1843,  a  peaceful 
revolution  extorted  the  promise  of  a  constitution  and  of  a 
national  Chamber,  and  compelled  the  retirement  of  the 
Bavarian  Cabinet  and  the  appointment  of  Mavrocordatos,  a 
Greek,  as  prime  minister.     The  Powers  did  not  interfere. 

The  constitutional  assembly  met  in  November.  It  elected 
as  its  president  a  revolutionary  hero,  Panoutsos  Notaras, 
then  107  years  old.  On  March  16,  1844,  a  liberal  Constitu- 
tion received  the  royal  signature.  It  provided  for  minis- 
terial responsibility,  a  Senate  named  by  the  king  and  a 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  or  Boule,  elected  by  universal  suffrage. 

The  restoration  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  has  always  been 
a  Greek  dream.  When  the  Crimean  War  broke  out,  Greek 
enthusiasm  believed  the  moment  of  realization  near  and 
prepared  to  attack  the  Sultan.  In  consequence  a  British 
and  French  fleet  blockaded  the  Piraeus.  A  sufficient  force 
was  sent  on  shore  to  overawe  Athens.  It  occupied  the 
country  from  May,  1854,  to  February,  1857. 

King  Otho  and  his  haughty  and  childless  queen,  Amelia, 
had  never  been  liked  by  the  Greeks  and  grew  daily  more 
unpopular.  While  they  were  absent  on  a  pleasure  trip  in 
the  ^gean  a  general  insurrection  broke  out,  the  throne  was 
declared  vacant  and  a  provisional  government  appointed 


A.D.  1862-1878.]  THE  BALKAN  STATES  109 

(October,  1862),  On  their  return  the  royal  travellers  were 
not  allowed  to  come  on  shore  and  departed  at  once  for 
Bavaria.  Prince  Wilhelm  of  Denmark  was  elected  "  King 
of  the  Hellenes,"  nominally  by  the  national  assembly,  but 
really  by  the  Powers  (1863).  If  the  Greeks  were  doomed 
to  have  a  foreign  king,  no  wiser  choice  could  have  been 
made.  Great  Britain  marked  her  satisfaction  by  the  ces- 
sion to  Greece  of  the  Ionian  Islands,  which  she  had  held 
ever  since  the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  marriage  of  the  young 
sovereign  and  of  the  Grand  Duchess  Olga,  niece  of  the  Tsar 
Alexander  II,  indicated  the  good-will  of  Russia. 

George  I  at  once  showed  himself  democratic  in  his  man- 
ners and  sympathies.  The  new  Constitution  of  1864,  which 
received  his  full  approval,  was  even  more  liberal  than  its 
predecessor  of  1844.  It  abolished  the  senate  and  estab- 
lished entire  freedom  of  the  press.  Parliamentary  majorities 
have  ever  since  determined  the  composition  of  the  cabinet 
and  the  foreign  policy.  While  modern  Greece  has  possessed 
several  statesmen  of  ability,  the  two  most  prominent  have 
been  MM.  Tricoupis  and  Delyannis.  During  the  seventeen 
years  subsequent  to  1881  they  alternated  with  each  other 
in  the  premiership,  M.  Tricoupis  being  prime  minister  four 
times  and  M.  Delyannis  three. 

The  relations  of  Greece  and  Turkey  have  given  rise  to 
the  most  delicate  and  involved  complications.  The  unsat- 
isfactory and  unjust  boundaries,  assigned  after  the  revolu- 
tion, left  the  majority  of  the  Greeks  still  rayahs  of  the 
Sultan.  Their  blood  had  been  lavished  without  reward. 
The  bond  between  these  rayahs  and  their  emancipated  kins- 
men has  even  grown  stronger  with  time.  Every  disturbance 
on  the  mainland  or  in  the  islands  has  caused  a  sympathetic 
outburst  among  the  free  Greeks.  But  European  diplomacy 
has  been  harder  to  deal  with  and  more  dreaded  than  the 
military  strength  of  the  Turks. 

During  the  Cretan  insurrection  of  1866-1868  the  Greeks 
welcomed  and  cared  for  more  than  50,000  Cretan  refugees, 
and  were  only  prevented  by  the  interference  of  France  and 
Great  Britain  from  themselves  taking  up  arms  in  behalf  of 
their  brethren.  A  similar  pressure  kept  them  quiet  during 
the  Russo-Turkish  war  of  1877-1878,  their  army  crossing  the 
frontier  only  after  the  preliminary  treaty  of  San  Stephano 
had  been  signed.  France,  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  urged 
the  claim  of  Greece  to  rectify  her  frontiers,  and  the  signa- 


110  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1878-1897. 

tory  powers  proposed  the  assignment  to  her  of  all  Thessaly 
and  the  southern  half  of  Epirus.  Turkey  skilfully  evaded 
compliance,  ceding  only  a  fragment  of  Epirus  and  southern 
Thessaly  (1881). 

The  fifteen  following  years  were  in  the  main  peaceful 
despite  the  heat  of  party  politics.  But  ineffectual  arma- 
ments against  Turkey  had  been  costly,  and  public  works, 
such  as  the  construction  of  railways  and  canals,  destined  to 
ultimately  increase  the  wealth  of  the  country,  had  drained 
its  resources  and  exhausted  its  credit.  Still  commerce  and 
agriculture  advanced.  Whatever  change  occurred  in  the 
general  condition  was  for  the  better. 

Then  began  the  saddest  chapter  in  the  story  of  modern 
Greece.  In  Crete  the  tight  for  liberty  had  again  burst  forth 
with  fury.  The  again-repeated  and  familiar  promises  of 
reform  were  laughed  at  by  the  insurgents.  On  February  8, 
1897,  when  almost  the  whole  island  was  in  their  possession, 
they  proclaimed  its  union  to  Greece.  The  news  came  upon 
the  Athenians  like  a  spark  upon  gunpowder.  The  king 
despatched  Prince  George  with  a  torpedo  flotilla  to  Crete 
(February  10)  and  Colonel  Vassos  with  1500  men  (February 
14).  The  Powers  protested  and  occupied  Canea,  the  Cretan 
capital.  Their  fleet  bombarded  the  Greeks  and  Cretans 
whenever  they  came  in  range.  In  a  joint  note  (March  2) 
they  declared  that  "  in  present  circumstances  "  Crete  could 
not  be  annexed  to  Greece,  but  that  it  should  be  endowed 
"  with  an  absolute  autonomy  "  under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Sultan.  This  declaration  was  satisfactory  to  neither  Turk, 
Greek  nor  Cretan.  More  than  40,000  Cretan  refugees  had 
fled  to  the  Piraeus  and  excited  compassion. 

The  Greek  and  Turkish  troops  approached  the  Thessalian 
frontier.  Provoked  by  incursions,  Turkey  declared  war 
April  17.  The  vastly  superior  number  of  her  troops,  their 
splendid  discipline  and  the  generalship  of  their  commander, 
Edhem  Pasha,  decided  the  result  in  a  three  weeks'  cam- 
paign. The  Crown  Prince  Constantine,  the  commander  of 
the  Greeks,  showed  little  courage  or  capacity.  His  small 
army,  supplied  only  with  enthusiasm,  was  as  badly  equipped 
as  it  was  poorly  led.  The  prime  minister,  M.  Delyannis, 
resigned.  His  successor,  M.  Ealli,  sued  for  peace  (May  8). 
The  conditions  of  the  treaty  were  terrible  for  the  van- 
quished. Greece  was  to  withdraw  her  troops  from  Crete, 
to  pay  a  war  indemnity  of  $20,000,000  and  to  submit  her 


A.D.  1897.]  THE  BALKAN  STATES  111 

finances  to  international  control.  Her  frontier  was  also  to 
be  rectified  to  Turkish  advantage.  It  was  understood  that 
Crete  was  to  enjoy  an  autonomous  government  "with 
reforms." 

Thus  Greece  had  staked  her  existence  and  been  tempo- 
rarily crushed.  In  1854  or  1867  or  1878,  or  even  in  1881, 
other  conditions  were  more  favorable,  and  she  might  have 
succeeded,  but  in  1897  she  was  hampered  in  every  way,  and 
the  Ottomans  given  not  only  a  free  hand,  but  moral  support 
by  the  concert  of  Europe.  Roumania,  Montenegro,  Bulga- 
ria and  Servia,  who  might  also  have  risen  against  Turkey, 
were  strictly  enjoined  to  remain  neutral,  and  the  two  latter 
states  were  rendered  responsible'  to  prevent  outbreak  in 
Macedonia. 

Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  course  of  the  Powers 
was  determined,  partly,  indeed,  by  hostility  to  Greek  am- 
bition, but  above  all  by  a  common  dread  of  a  general  Euro- 
pean war.  No  conflagration  spreads  so  fast  as  successful 
rebellion.  Crete  and  Greece  were  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of 
an  ignoble  peace. 


112  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1848-1898. 


XIII 

THE  SMALLER  EUROPEAN  STATES 
(1848-1898) 

Denmark.  —  Frederick  VII  ascended  the  throne  on  Janu- 
ary 20,  1848.  Soon  after  his  accession  he  granted  an  auto- 
cratic Constitution.  The  Kigsdag,  or  Assembly,  consisting 
of  an  upper  and  a  lower  Chamber,  was  to  meet  annually, 
and  could  not  be  prorogued  till  after  it  had  sat  two  months. 
The  upper  Chamber,  of  sixty-six  members,  was  appointed 
partly  by  the  sovereign  and  partly  by  restricted  ballot.  The 
102  members  of  the  lower  Chamber  were  elected  by  suf- 
frage, each  voter  to  be  thirty  years  of  age  and  of  reputable 
character.  The  desire  for  uniformity  led  the  king  to  apply 
the  same  constitution  to  Iceland,  where  the  ancient  Althing, 
or  General  Diet,  after  existing  870  years,  had  been  abol- 
ished in  1800.  The  Icelanders  fretted  at  the  new  system, 
refused  to  be  made  a  mere  royal  province  and  stoutly  in- 
sisted on  maintaining  their  traditional  local  laws.  After 
long  discussion,  most  of  the  demands  of  the  Icelanders  were 
grudgingly  granted  in  1874. 

With  Frederick  VII,  who  died  in  1863,  the  Danish 
dynasty  became  extinct.  Christian  IX,  of  the  house  of 
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gliicksburg,  became  king. 
Like  his  predecessor,  he  was  confronted  on  his  accession  by 
a  war  over  Schleswig  and  Holstein,  which  were  conquered 
and  held  by  the  allied  Prussians  and  Austrians.  The  in- 
ternal history  of  Denmark  has  been  filled  by  the  struggles 
of  the  conservatives  and  liberals.  The  former,  supported 
by  the  privileged  classes,  are  absolutist  in  tendency  and 
care  little  for  parliamentary  government.  The  liberals, 
representing  the  vast  majority  of  the  people,  wish  to  make 
their  rights  a  fact.  Its  weakness  has  prevented  Denmark 
from  exercising  political  influence  abroad.  But  the  children 
of  no  other  European  sovereign  have  already  occupied  or 
expect  to  occupy  so  many  thrones.     Frederick,  the  prince 


A.D.  1848-1898.]     TUE  SMALLER  EUROPEAN  STATES  113 

royal,  is  heir  to  the  crown  of  Denmark.  Prince  Wilhelm, 
under  the  title  of  George  I,  is  king  of  Greece.  Princess 
Alexandra  is  the  wife  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  in  the 
course  of  nature  will  be  queen  of  Great  Britain.  Princess 
Marie  Dagmar,  as  the  wife  of  Alexander  III,  was  Tsarina 
of  Russia,  and  is  the  mother  of  the  present  Tsar  Nicholas  II. 

Sweden  and  Norway.  —  These  two  states,  violently  thrust 
together  in  1814  after  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon,  have 
their  separate  existence  under  one  crown,  each  with  its  own 
Constitution,  ministry,  and  two  Chambers.  For  foreign 
affairs,  however,  there  is  but  one  minister,  who  is  usually 
a  Swede.  The  king  resides  at  Stockholm,  which  outranks 
Christiania  much  as  Sweden  outranks  Norway.  In  fact,  the 
independence  of  Norway  is  nominal  rather  than  real.  This 
position  of  inferiority  rankles  in  the  less  populous  country, 
and  furnishes  the  most  prominent  plank  in  the  platform  of 
the  Norwegian  radical  party.  In  both  countries  the  sys- 
tem of  election  is  by  restricted  suffrage.  The  number  of 
electors  qualified  to  vote  for  members  of  even  the  lower 
house  is  in  Norway  about  nine  per  cent,  of  the  population, 
and  in  Sweden  only  about  six  per  cent. 

Oscar  I,  the  son  of  Charles  XIV,  better  known  as  Mar- 
shal Bernadotte  of  Prance,  acceded  in  1844  and  reigned 
fifteen  years.  His  son,  Charles  XV,  reigned  from  1859  to 
1872,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Oscar  II,  the  present  sov- 
ereign. He  is  distinguished  as  a  man  of  learning  and  an 
accomplished  orator  in  many  languages.  The  two  countries 
have  taken  small  part  in  European  politics  during  the  last 
half  century.  In  1855  they  joined  the  alliance  against 
Russia,  the  hereditary  enemy  of  Sweden.  Instead  of  sub- 
siding, the  anti-Swedish  feeling  in  Norway  and  partiality 
for  Denmark  have  grown  stronger  in  the  last  five  years. 
Nothing  but  the  tact  of  Oscar  II  has  thus  far  prevented  war 
between  the  Norwegians  and  Swedes. 

Switzerland.  —  Despite  diminutive  size  and  small  popu- 
lation, Switzerland,  in  political  ideas  and  institutions,  re- 
sembles the  United  States  more  than  does  any  other  foreign 
country.  Its  people  have  had  long  experience  in  self-gov- 
ernment. Their  freedom  has  been  gained  by  their  own 
heroic  efforts  and  not  bestowed  by  foreigners.  Their  area, 
small  as  it  is,  has  reached  its  present  extent  by  successive 
admissions  or  by  annexations  of  adjacent  territory. 

The  fact  that  the  people  are  of  three  nationalities  and 


114  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1848-1898. 

languages,  and  that  these  three  are  geographically  separate, 
French  in  the  southwest  and  west,  Italian  in  the  south  and 
German  in  the  rest  of  the  country,  is  an  obstacle  to  effective 
union.  A  further  obstacle  is  found  in  the  second  fact  of 
their  nearly  equal  division  between  Protestantism  and 
Eoman  Catholicism,  fifty-nine  per  cent  being  adherents 
of  the  former  communion  and  forty  per  cent  of  the  latter. 
These  two  religions  are  also  drawn  up  on  geographical 
lines,  the  central,  or  most  ancient,  and  the  southern  can- 
tons being  Catholic,  while  the  western,  northern  and 
eastern  cantons  are  Protestant.  To  these  two  facts  are 
due  most  of  their  domestic  troubles  and  civil  wars.  Since 
1848  there  has  been  no  political  disturbance  of  any 
importance,  except  a  royalist  attempt  in  Neuchatel  to 
overturn  the  government,  and  petty  riots  in  the  Italian 
canton  of  Ticino. 

But  until  1848,  though  there  was  a  Switzerland,  there 
was  no  Swiss  nation.  An  individual's  rights  were  cantonal 
and  not  national.  Men  were  citizens  of  Berne  or  Zurich  or 
Uri  or  some  other  canton,  but  not  of  a  common  country. 
The  salvation  of  the  state  and  the  assurance  of  its  perma- 
nence came  with  the  overthrow  of  the  Sonderbund  or  Sepa- 
rate League  of  Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Zug,  Lucerne, 
Freiburg  and  Valais  in  1847. 

The  radical,  or  national,  party  had  triumphed.  They  be- 
stowed upon  Switzerland  the  most  precious  gift  in  its  his- 
tory, the  Constitution  of  1848.  The  men  who  framed  it 
studied  carefully  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  In 
view  of  the  difficulties  with  which  they  had  to  deal,  there 
was  no  other  political  document  which  could  be  of  aid.  In 
fact,  the  fundamental  proposition  of  the  Swiss  Constitution 
is  a  paraphrase  of  Article  X  in  the  Amendments  to  the 
American  Constitution.  The  political  life  of  the  nation  has 
since  been  summed  up  in  the  application  and  extension  of 
its  organic  charter.  The  Federal  Assembly,  exercising  leg- 
islative functions,  has  taken  the  place  of  the  ancient  power- 
less Diet.  The  executive  power  is  centred  in  a  Federal 
Council  of  seven  members,  elected  by  the  Federal  Assembly 
for  three  years.  This  Federal  Assembly  is  modelled  after 
the  American  Congress.  It  consists  of  a  State  Council, 
wherein  two  deputies  from  each  canton  represent  cantonal 
sovereignty,  and  of  a  National  Council  of  one  deputy  for 
every  20,000  inhabitants,  representing  popular  sovereignty. 


A.D.  1848-1866.]       THE  SMALLER  EUROPEAN  STATES  115 

The  Swiss  president  has  a  minimum  of  authority,  holds 
office  for  only  one  year  and  cannot  be  reelected. 

This  Constitution  has  been  several  times  revised,  always 
with  a  tendency  to  give  more  direct  participation  in  affairs 
to  the  people.  The  most  important  modification  is  in  the 
extension  of  the  referendum,  whereby  the  impulse  to  law- 
making is  from  below  rather  than  from  above,  and  where 
the  decision  as  well  as  the  initiative  rests  in  the  hands  of 
the  voters. 

If  appropriate  laws,  industry  and  material  prosperity 
assure  the  welfare  of  a  people,  it  is  easy  to  credit  the  boast 
of  the  Swiss  that  they  are  the  best  governed  and  the  hap- 
piest nation  in  the  world. 

Belgium.  —  The  successful  revolution  of  1830  against 
Holland  secured  Belgian  independence.  By  the  treaty  of 
London  (November  15,  1831)  Austria,  France,  Great  Britain 
and  Russia  guaranteed  the  neutrality  of  the  new  state. 
The  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha  had  been  already  elected 
king  of  the  Belgians  by  the  National  Assembly,  and  had  as- 
cended the  throne  as  Leopold  I.  But  the  sovereign  of  Hol- 
land did  not  recognize  accomplished  facts  until  1839.  The 
constitution  of  1831  declared  Belgium  "a  constitutional, 
representative  and  hereditary  monarchy."  Leopold  II, 
the  present  ruler,  succeeded  on  the  death  of  his  father 
(December  10,  1865). 

The  foreign  history  of  the  country  has  been  confined  to 
apprehension  that  its  integrity  might  be  violated  by  France 
or  Germany.  On  the  separation  of  Holland  and  Belgium, 
the  grand  duchy  of  Luxemburg  had  been  divided.  One- 
third  of  the  territory,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  mostly 
Germans,  continued  to  be  the  grand  duchy  and  was  united 
to  Holland  by  a  personal  union,  the  sovereign  of  that  coun- 
try being  acknowledged  as  the  grand  duke.  It  continued 
however  to  make  part  of  the  German  confederation.  The 
remaining  two-thirds,  inhabited  by  a  French  speaking 
people,  were  assigned  to  Belgium.  When  Louis  Napoleon 
became  emperor,  the  Belgians  feared  that  he  would  secure 
the  cession  of  this  territory,  and  perhaps  the  annexation  of 
their  entire  kingdom  to  France.  But  it  was  in  reference 
to  the  grand  duchy  of  Luxemburg  that  Napoleon  carried  on 
his  calamitous  negotiations  with  Bismarck  after  the  Prusso- 
Austrian  campaign  of  1866.  The  proposal  of  Count  Beust 
that  the  grand  duchy  should  be  annexed  to  Belgium,  which, 


116  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1866-1898. 

in  turn,  should  cede  certain  territory  on  the  south  to  France, 
was  indignantly  rejected  by  Leopold  II.  The  conference 
of  London  (May  11,  1867)  decided  on  the  neutrality  of  the 
duchy  and  on  the  withdrawal  of  the  Prussian  garrison  which 
held  its  capital.  The  French  diplomatists  assert  that  Bis- 
marck had  previously  proposed  the  incorporation  of  all  Bel- 
gium with  France.  Though  Belgium  was  strictly  neutral 
in  the  Franco-Prussian  war  of  1870-1871,  she  and  Holland 
were  both  alarmed  at  the  possible  rapacity  of  the  conquerors. 
But  there  was  no  interference  with  either. 

By  an  international  conference  in  1885,  Leopold  II  was 
made  sovereign  of  the  Congo  Free  State,  which  possesses 
an  area  of  900,000  square  miles  and  30,000,000  inhabitants. 
On  August  2,  1889,  by  a  formal  will,  he  bequeathed  to  Bel- 
gium all  his  sovereign  rights  over  it.  By  convention  the 
right  is  recognized  to  Belgium  to  annex  the  state  at  any 
time  after  the  year  1900. 

Belgium  is  the  most  densely  populated  and,  in  proportion 
to  its  size,  the  wealthiest  country  in  Europe.  Nowhere  are 
political  parties  more  sharply  defined  and  political  contests 
more  fierce.  For  sixty  years  there  has  been  presented  the 
spectacle  of  a  determined  and  never  intermittent  wrestle 
between  the  nearly  equal  forces  of  the  "  Catholics  "  and  lib- 
erals. The  latter  are  strongest  in  the  great  industrial  cen- 
tres and  the  former  in  the  other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  By 
a  peculiar  compromise,  or  double  victory,  in  1893  the  prin- 
cipal tenets  of  both  parties  were  engrafted  on  the  revised 
Constitution.  The  liberals  secured  the  suffrage  for  every 
citizen  twenty-five  years  of  age.  Hitherto  less  than  140,- 
000  persons  had  been  qualified  to  vote.  The  Catholics,  un- 
willing to  accept  the  principle  of  absolute  political  equality, 
secured  the  right  of  casting  two  or  even  three  votes  to  who- 
ever possessed  certain  educational  or  property  qualifications. 
Before  1893  in  a  population  of  over  6,000,000  less  than 
140,000  persons  were  allowed  the  vote.  In  consequence  of 
the  constitutional  revision  1,350,000  electors  were  authorized 
to  cast  2,066,000  votes. 

The  new  system  resulted  in  an  overwhelming  victory  for 
the  Catholics  in  the  elections  of  1894.  The  effaceraent  of 
the  liberals  gives  fresh  hope  and  strength  to  advancing 
socialism,  and  the  old  Catholic  party  itself  is  breaking  up 
into  two  hostile  factions. 

Holland  or  the  Netherlands.  —  AVilliam  II  died  in  1849. 


A.D.  1848-1898.]       THE  SMALLER  EUROPEAN  STATES  117 

William  III  reigned  until  1890.  His  two  sons,  William 
and  Alexander,  passed  away  some  time  before  his  death. 
In  1879,  when  sixty-two  years  old,  he  married,  as  his  second 
wife,  the  Princess  Emma  of  Waldeck  and  Pyrmont,  who 
was  only  twenty.  Their  daughter,  Wilhelmina,  succeeded 
at  the  age  of  ten,  her  mother  taking  the  oath  as  regent. 
On  August  31,  1898,  this  last  descendant  of  William  the 
Silent,  on  the  completion  of  her  eighteenth  year,  became 
sovereign  in  reality  as  well  as  in  name.  The  formal  coro- 
nation took  place  a  week  later.  Probably  the  Dutch  had 
never  greeted  any  event  with  such  enthusiasm  as  the  for- 
mal accession  of  their  fair  girl-queen. 

The  Constitution,  granted  the  Netherlands  in  1815,  was 
revised  in  1848  and  1887.  The  people,  not  being  discon- 
tented with  their  government,  were  only  slightly  affected 
by  the  European  commotions  of  1848.  In  1896  an  Electoral 
Reform  Act  conferred  the  right  to  vote  on  all  Dutchmen 
twenty-five  years  old.  Legislative  functions  were  vested 
conjointly  in  the  sovereign  and  a  Parliament  consisting  of 
an  upper,  or  first,  and  lower,  or  second,  Chambers.  Party 
divisions  in  Holland  have  been  mainly  religious,  and  the 
burning  question  still  is  as  to  the  introduction  of  religion 
in  the  schools.  Of  late  years  the  Catholics,  who  constitute 
a  little  over  a  third  of  the  population,  have  been  inclined 
to  unite  with  the  conservatives,  or  orthodox  Protestants, 
against  the  liberals,  who  oppose  religious  instruction  in 
state  institutions. 

Holland  still  retains  extensive  colonial  possessions,  es- 
pecially in  the  Pacific,  with  an  area  of  783,000  square  miles 
and  a  population  of  35,000,000.  An  insurrection  of  the 
people  of  Atjeh  in  Sumatra,  which  has  gone  on  in  intermit- 
tent fashion  for  twenty-five  years,  has  been  a  heavy  tax 
upon  her  resources.  In  1862  she  abolished  slavery  in  the 
Dutch  West  Indies.  Her  East  Indian  possessions  are  in  a 
far  less  satisfactory  condition. 

On  the  death  of  William  III,  Adolf,  Duke  of  Nassau, 
succeeded  as  Grand  Duke  of  Luxemburg. 

The  Five  Smaller  States  and  the  Balkan  States. — These 
five  smaller  states  —  Denmark,  Sweden-Norway,  Switzer- 
land, Belgium  and  Holland  —  are  superior  in  population 
and  territory  as  well  as  in  civilization  and  material  pros- 
perity, to  the  five  Balkan  states  —  Roumania,  Montenegro, 
Servia,  Bulgaria  and  Greece.     But  during  the  last  fifty 


118  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORt         [a.d.  1848-1898. 

years  all  of  them,  except  Denmark,  have  mercifully  been 
spared  the  experience  of  war.  They  have  given  rise  to  few 
problems  of  international  importance.  They  have  been 
permitted  with  little  or  no  interference  from  outside  to 
work  out  their  individual  destiny. 

The  Balkan  states,  on  the  other  hand,  although  inhabited 
by  peoples  still  more  ancient,  are  only  just  born  into  politi- 
cal life.  They  have  been  of  late  the  occasion  and  the 
theatre  of  many  destructive  wars.  Their  vicinage  to  Con- 
stantinople makes  them  still  the  battle-ground  of  European 
diplomacy.  The  uncertainties  and  complications  of  their 
future  render  them  to-day  of  more  vital  interest  than  any 
other  territory  of  equal  extent  within  the  limits  of  the 
continent. 


A.D.  1833-1851.]  SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL  119 


XIV 
SPAIN   AND   PORTUGAL 

Spain.  Eeign  of  IsabeUa  II  (1833-1868). —Ferdinand 
VU  died  in  1833,  leaving  two  daughters,  Isabella  and  Maria 
Louisa.  Isabella,  the  elder,  a  child  of  three,  became  queen, 
and  her  mother  Christina  was  appointed  regent.  The  Car- 
list  war  distracted  the  country  for  seven  years,  until  1840. 
That  same  year  Marshal  Espartero,  Duke  of  Victory,  seized 
the  power,  forced  Christina  into  exile  and,  a  military  dic- 
tator, installed  himself  as  regent.  A  coalition,  headed  by 
his  bitter  enemy.  General  Narvaez,  afterwards  Duke  of 
Valencia,  drove  him  from  the  country.  The  queen  was 
declared  of  age  (1843).  Espartero  had  been  devoted  to  the 
British,  Narvaez  was  no  less  so  to  the  Erench  party,  which 
now  became  dominant.  Louis  Philippe  secured  the  hand 
of  Maria  Louisa  for  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Montpensier,  and 
brought  about  the  marriage  of  Queen  Isabella  to  her  cousin, 
Erancis  d'Assisi,  who  was  equally  diseased  in  mind  and 
body  (1846).  By  this  arrangement,  if  Isabella  died  child- 
less, the  throne  would  revert  to  her  sister  and  to  the  son  of 
Louis  Philippe.  No  woman  was  ever  more  cruelly  sacri- 
ficed than  this  young  queen,  married  on  her  sixteenth  birth- 
day. Whatever  the  later  follies  and  even  crimes  of  Isabella 
II,  they  were  largely  due  to  the  heartless  craft  of  a  cold- 
blooded king. 

The  revolutionary  tidal  wave  of  1848  crossed  the  Pyre- 
nees. But  isolated  republican  movements  were  quickly 
repressed.  The  camarilla,  or  clique  of  royal  favorites, 
crowded  ISTarvaez  from  office  (1851).  In  March  the  govern- 
ment signed  a  concordat  with  the  Pope,  prohibiting  the 
exercise  of  any  religion  other  than  the  Koman  Catholic, 
placing  all  education  under  the  control  of  the  clergy  and 
submitting  all  publications  to  their  censorship.  The  gov- 
ernment further  proposed  such  amendments  to  the  inopera- 
tive Constitution  as  would  formally  deprive  the  Cortes  of  its 
prerogatives  and  render  the  sovereign  absolute.      These 


120  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1851-1868. 

amendments  were  superfluous,  but  even  any  semblance  of 
liberty  was  to  be  effaced.  The  army  and  the  workmen  of 
the  large  cities  combined  in  successful  revolution  (July, 
1854).  For  two  years  Espartero  and  Marshal  O'Donnell, 
minister  of  war,  directed  affairs  and  followed  a  more  liberal 
policy.  Then  came  two  years  of  clerical  reaction.  O'Don- 
nell had  founded  the  Liberal  Union,  recruited  among  the 
advocates  of  mild  reform  or  opponents  of  absolute  despot-  . 
ism.  It  carried  him  into  power  (1858)  and  sustained  him 
as  prime  minister  until  1863.  He  sought  to  divert  attention 
from  domestic  troubles  to  foreign  affairs.  Thus  he  invaded 
Morocco  (1860),  joined  Napoleon  and  Great  Britain  in  the 
Mexican  expedition  (1861),  attempted  the  overthrow  of  the 
Dominican  Republic  (1861-1865)  and  began  a  senseless  war 
against  Peru  (1863-1866).  Most  of  these  enterprises  ended 
in  utter  failure,  unaccompanied  by  glory  and  enormously 
increasing  the  national  debt. 

O'Donnell  was  replaced  by  Narvaez.  The  queen  surren- 
dered herself  entirely  to  priests  and  favorites.  The  darkest 
days  of  absolutism  and  bigotry  returned.  Spanish  Protes- 
tants were  condemned  to  the  galleys  for  no  other  crime  than 
their  faith.  All  newspaper  articles  were  to  be  submitted 
to  the  censor  before  publication.  The  Cortes  passed  a  law 
that  any  person  on  suspicion  could  be  arrested  and  impris- 
oned. Meanwhile  discontent  and  indignation  were  seething 
all  over  Spain.  Packing  the  prisons  to  overflowing  could 
not  drown  the  general  complaint.  Yet  none  were  so  blind 
and  deaf  as  the  queen  and  her  counsellors.  Narvaez  was 
able  to  terrify  the  opposition,  dissolve  the  Cortes  and  expel 
Marshal  Serrano,  the  president  of  the  Senate.  Narvaez 
was  merciless  and  strong,  but  he  died  (April  23,  1868)  and 
his  successor,  Gonzales  Bravo,  though  merciless  was  weak. 

The  Revolution  (1868). — The  three  persecuted  parties, 
the  progressists,  unionists  and  democrats,  coalesced.  The 
Marshals  Serrano  and  Prim  issued  a  pronunciamento  against 
an  intolerable  government.  Then  came  the  crash  in  one 
mad,  universal  upheaval.  Hardly  an  arm  was  raised  in 
behalf  of  the  queen,  who  fled  to  France  (September  30, 
1868). 

Political  Experiments  (1868-1875).  —During  the  succeed- 
ing eight  years  there  were  few  political  experiences  which 
the  unhappy  country  did  not  endure.  During  the  trial  of 
each  experiment  its  opponents  did  their  utmost,  by  noisy 


A.D.  1868-1876.]  SPAIX  AND  PORTUGAL  121 

demonstration  or  secret  plot,  to  make  it  a  failure.  At  first 
the  dual  dictators,  Marshal  Serrano  and  Marshal  Prim,  were 
the  one,  president  of  the  council  and  commander  of  the 
army,  and  the  other,  minister  of  war.  The  Cortes  met 
(February  12, 1869)  and  proclaimed  a  Constitution,  the  sup- 
posed panacea  for  every  evil  (June  5).  A  less  number  of 
deputies  were  opposed  to  a  liberal  monarchy  than  to  any 
other  system,  so  the  Constitution  was  drawn  up  in  that 
sense. 

Marshal  Serrano  was  made  regent  (June  16,  1869)  and 
devoted  himself  to  finding  a  king.  Among  other  princes 
who  declined  the  proffered  crown  was  Leopold,  a  Hohen- 
zollern  prince,  whose  supposed  candidacy  furnished  the 
occasion  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  Prince  Amadeo, 
Duke  of  Aosta,  son  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  gave  a  favorable 
answer.  He  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  the  Cortes  (No- 
vember 15,  1870).  The  very  day  he  landed  at  Barcelona 
(December  28)  Marshal  Prim,  the  minister  of  war,  was 
murdered  at  Madrid.  The  assassins  lodged  eight  bullets 
in  his  body.  Amadeo  was  crowned  and  remained  in  Spain 
for  two  years.  He  did  his  best  to  rule  well,  but  the  clergy, 
the  nobles  and  the  republicans  opposed  him  at  every  step 
and  offered  him  all  possible  insult.  The  Carlist  war  broke 
out  again  with  fresh  fury,  under  another  Don  Carlos,  grand- 
sou  of  the  old  pretender  (1872).  Disheartened  and  dis- 
gusted, Amadeo  abdicated  (February  11,  1873).  The  next 
day  the  Cortes  declared  the  republic.  Months  of  wrangling 
among  the  republican  factions  resulted  in  the  proclamation 
of  Senor  Castelar  as  president  with  dictatorial  powers.  He 
had  been  professor  of  philosophy  at  the  University  of 
Madrid.  He  was  an  orator,  a  patriot  and  a  statesman,  but 
he  could  not  rule  Spain.  He  resigned  (January  2,  1874). 
At  once  General  Pavia,  at  the  head  of  the  army,  expelled 
the  Cortes  and  made  Marshal  Serrano  military  dictator. 
Marshal  Campos  proclaimed  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbon 
dynasty  in  the  person  of  Alphonso,  the  son  of  the  deposed 
queen  (December  29,  1874).  This  measure  was  supported 
by  the  general  sentiment.  Marshal  Serrano  made  no  oppo- 
sition and  Alphonso  XII  returned  from  England,  where  he 
had  been  a  student  in  the  Royal  Military  Academy,  and 
ascended  the  throne. 

Reign  of  Alphonso  XII  (1875-1885).  —The  present  Con- 
stitution was  proclaimed  on  June  30,  1876.     The  political 


122  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1876-1885. 

liberties  it  secures  are  large  in  appearance.  But  ambiguous 
or  qualifying  phrases  make  it  a  liberal  Constitution  hardly 
more  than  in  name,  and  place  the  reality  of  power  in  the 
hands  of  the  sovereign,  the  executive.  Legislative  functions 
are  exercised  by  the  Cortes,  which  consists  of  a  Senate  and 
Congress  of  equal  authority.  The  Senate  is  composed  of  sen- 
ators "  in  their  own  right,"  —  members  of  the  royal  family, 
grandees  enjoying  an  annual  income  of  over  $12,000,  cap- 
tain-generals, admirals,  archbishops  and  presidents  of  the 
supreme  councils  and  courts  —  of  senators  named  for  life 
by  the  sovereign  and  of  180  senators  elected  by  privileged 
bodies.  The  entire  number  at  no  time  can  exceed  360. 
The  Congress  of  431  deputies  is  elected  by  universal  suffrage. 
By  the  law  of  June  26,  1890,  all  male  Spaniards  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  except  certain  disqualified  persons,  are 
allowed  to  vote.  The  Cortes  meets  annually,  and  may  at 
any  time  be  suspended  or  dissolved.  In  the  latter  case  a 
new  Cortes  must  sit  within  three  months.  The  Constitution 
declares  Roman  Catholicism  the  religion  of  the  state,  but 
no  person  can  be  molested  for  his  private  opinions  or  for 
the  exercise  of  his  own  faith.  At  the  same  time  no  public- 
ity of  celebration  or  announcement,  such  as  a  notice  upon 
the  walls,  is  allowed  to  other  communions. 

The  Carlist  war  was  entirely  suppressed.  Estella,  the 
headquarters  of  insurrection,  surrendered  (February  19, 
1876)  and  Don  Carlos  fled  to  France.  The  Carlist  party 
none  the  less  exists  to  this  day.  His  partisans  were  re- 
cruited among  the  mountains  of  the  Basque  and  Navarrese 
provinces,  which  still  retained  their  fueros,  or  special  privi- 
leges, such  as  exemption  from  imposts  and  from  military 
service.  These  fueros,  which  few  preceding  governments 
had  dared  to  touch,  were  now  formally  abolished  by  vote  of 
the  Cortes  (July  21).  Another  civil  war  was  necessary  to 
carry  the  vote  into  effect. 

The  disorder  elsewhere  began  to  diminish.  The  Carlists 
for  a  time  were  harmless.  The  republicans  broke  up  into 
cliques  or,  under  the  lead  of  Castelar,  rallied  to  the  support 
of  the  throne.  Two  monarchist  parties,  the  conservatives 
and  the  liberals,  emerged  from  the  political  chaos.  The 
former  was  led  by  Canovas  del  Castillo  and  the  latter  by 
Sagasta.  One  or  the  other  of  these  two  statesmen  has  been 
at  the  head  of  Spanish  affairs  since  1874,  seven  times  suc- 
ceeding each  other  as  prime  minister. 


A.D.  1885-1895.]  SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL  123 

Reign  of  Alphonso  XIII.  Regency  of  Queen  Christina 
(1885-  ).  —  Alphonso  XII  died  iu  his  twenty-eighth  year 
(November  25,  1885).  His  daughter,  Maria  de  las  Mer- 
cedes, would  have  succeeded  had  not  the  birth  of  a  posthu- 
mous brother,  Alphonso  XIII  (May  17,  1886)  deprived  her 
of  the  crown.  The  queen  dowager,  Christina,  an  arch- 
duchess of  Austria,  had  been  declared  regent.  A  devoted 
wife,  her  whole  life  since  the  death  of  her  husband  has  been 
consecrated  to  her  son.  If  the  young  prince  ever  sits  upon 
the  throne,  it  will  be  due  to  his  mother's  sagacity  and  de- 
votion. Nor  is  it  strange  if,  in  the  effort  to  make  him  king, 
dynastic  interests  have  sometimes  outweighed  the  interests 
of  Spain. 

The  queen  confided  tbe  direction  of  affairs  to  Seiior  Sa- 
gasta,  and  indicated  her  preference  for  a  liberal  policy. 
The  financial  situation  gave  most  concern.  There  was 
an  ever-growing  deficit,  but  any  attempt  to  curtail  always 
provoked  fierce  opposition.  The  socialists  and  anarchists 
redoubled  their  activity.  At  Xeres  the  latter  tried  to  seize 
the  town,  and  at  Madrid  to  blow  up  the  palace  of  the  Cortes. 
The  troubles  at  Barcelona  could  only  be  put  down  by  martial 
law  (1892).  Meanwhile  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  discovery  of  America  was  celebrated  with  enthusiasm  all 
over  the  country,  but  riots  at  Madrid  ended  the  festivals. 
The  one  need  was  money.  One  day  the  mayor  of  the  capital 
•was  to  pay  16,000,000  pesetas.  There  were  only  769,000  in 
the  treasury.  At  Barcelona  during  a  review  an  anarchist 
bomb  severely  wounded  Marshal  Campos,  the  commander- 
in-chief,  and  killed  some  of  his  staff,  and  at  the  theatre 
another  bomb  killed  twenty  spectators  and  wounded  many 
more  (1893).  An  insult  from  the  Moors  suddenly  engrossed 
attention.  Morocco  escaped  war  only  by  agreeing  to  pay  an 
indemnity  of  20,000,000  pesetas.  Though  smuggling  was 
openly  carried  on,  proposals  to  lower  the  tariff  brought  the 
country  to  the  brink  of  revolution.  Officers  attacked  the 
liberal  newspapers  and  destroyed  the  presses.  Catalonia 
rose  in  revolt.  The  republicans  demanded  the  deposition 
of  the  dynasty.  At  the  end  of  his  resources,  Sagasta  re- 
signed.    Canovas  formed  a  cabinet  (March  22,  1895). 

Cuba.  —  The  chronic  insurrection  in  Cuba  had  assumed 
alarming  proportions.  In  the  mind  of  the  new  prime  min- 
ister, the  Cuban  question  dwarfed  all  other  problems  with 
which  he  had  to  deal.    He  demanded  an  unlimited  credit. 


124  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1895-18OT. 

The  army  of  General  Gallega,  commander  of  the  Spanish 
troops  in  the  island,  though  often  reenforced,  had  been  hor- 
ribly decimated  by  yellow  fever.  Marshal  Campos,  consid- 
ered the  ablest  soldier  in  Spain,  was  appointed  to  lead  a 
new  expedition.  He  selected  with  care  200  officers  and  7000 
men.  General  Valdez,  director  of  the  military  school  at 
Madrid,  was  his  chief  of  staff.     He  sailed  on  April  2,  1895. 

During  the  next  two  years  and  a  half,  though  riots,  re- 
bellions and  hideous  anarchist  outrages  went  on  in  Spain 
and  the  state  of  the  finances  grew  constantly  more  appall- 
ing, Cuba  filled  the  political  horizon.  Insurrection  in  the 
Philippines  only  diverted  partial  attention  to  the  East. 
Had  Cuba  been,  like  Crete,  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  Spain  would  have  felt  less  concern.  Its  nearness  to 
the  United  States  rather  than  apprehension  of  the  insur- 
gents was  the  ground  of  her  anxiety. 

The  hopes  entertained  of  Marshal  Campos  were  not  real- 
ized. He  was  replaced  (January  17,  1896)  by  Lieutenant- 
General  Weyler,  whose  former  cruelties  in  Cuba  and 
Catalonia  had  given  him  a  sinister  reputation.  This  ap- 
pointment roused  outspoken  indignation  in  the  United 
States.  Spain,  however,  regarded  all  expressions  of  Ameri- 
can sympathy  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  as  insincere 
and  prompted  by  selfish  motives.  While  dreading  inter- 
vention she  took  no  efficient  measures  to  remove  the  abuses 
on  which  intervention  might  be  based.  Nor  was  she  likely 
to  give  a  colony  a  much  better  administration  than  her  own 
people  enjoyed  at  home.  The  ministry  however  announced 
certain  unsatisfactory  reforms  (February  6,  1897),  of  which 
the  most  prominent  was  the  grant  of  a  kind  of  autonomy  to 
Cuba;  but  these  reforms  were  to  be  applied  only  after  the 
island  was  tranquil.  The  prime  minister,  Senor  Canovas, 
was  assassinated  in  broad  daylight  by  an  anarchist  (August 
8,  1897),  and  his  lifelong  rival,  Senor  Sagasta,  took  office. 

General  Weyler's  policy  of  terrorism  had  proved  even 
less  effective  than  Marshal  Campos'  policy  of  pacification. 
Even  the  Spaniards  denounced  him.  Formal  communica- 
tions from  the  American  government  (September  19  and 
October  5)  increased  the  gravity  of  the  situation.  General 
Weyler  was  recalled  and  General  Blanco  appointed  in  his 
stead  (October  9).  A  radical  change  in  policy,  with  full 
autonomy  for  Cuba,  was  attempted.  It  was  too  late. 
Events  had  marched  beyond  the  control  of  statesmanship 


A.D.  1897-1898.]  SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL  125 

or  diplomacy.  An  indiscreet  letter  of  tlie  Spanish  minis- 
ter at  Washington,  Senor  de  Lome,  caused  his  resignation 
(February  8,  1898),  The  American  battleship  Maine  was 
blown  up  in  the  harbor  of  Havana  (February  15)  with  the 
loss  of  250  seamen  and  two  officers.  Common  opinion 
attributed  the  catastrophe  to  the  Spanish  officials.  In  the 
United  States  the  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  interven- 
tion could  no  longer  be  repressed. 

Pope  Leo  XIII  offered  to  mediate  between  the  Cuban 
insurgents  and  the  mother  country  (April  4).  The  six 
European  Powers  presented  a  joint  note  to  President 
McKinley  in  the  interests  of  peace  (April  7).  On  April  20 
President  McKinley  signed  a  resolution  of  Congress  recog- 
nizing the  independence  of  Cuba.  The  same  day  he  sent 
an  ultimatum  to  Spain,  but  before  it  could  be  delivered 
the  Spanish  government  notified  the  American  minister. 
General  Woodford,  that  diplomatic  relations  with  the 
United  States  were  at  an  end.     War  had  begun. 

After  an  unbroken  series  of  defeats,  M.  Cambon,  the 
French  ambassador  at  Washington,  in  behalf  of  Spain,  sued 
for  peace  (July  20).  The  peace  protocol  was  signed  at 
Washington  (August  12).  Spain  relinquished  all  sover- 
eignty over  Cuba,  ceded  Porto  Eico  and  all  her  possessions 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  whatever  island  in  the  Ladrones 
the  United  States  should  select,  assented  to  the  occupation 
of  Manila,  —  bay,  harbor  and  city,  —  leaving  to  the  treaty 
hereafter  to  be  signed  all  matters  relating  to  the  Philip- 
pines, and  agreed  to  immediately  evacuate  the  West  Indies. 
Both  governments  were  to  suspend  hostilities  as  soon  as  the 
protocol  was  signed.  Five  commissioners  from  each  nation, 
no  later  than  October  1,  were  to  conclude  the  definite  treaty 
of  peace. 

Thus  Spain  departed  from  the  hemisphere  which  she  re- 
vealed to  the  world  406  years  before.  The  news  of  peace 
was  received  with  satisfaction  by  her  exhausted  people. 
She  has  now  to  concern  herself  with  domestic  affairs,  but 
tranquillity  is  not  the  normal  condition  of  the  Iberian 
peninsula. 

Portngal.  — Dona  Maria  da  Gloria  II  died  in  1853.  Her 
father,  Pedro  I  of  Brazil,  had  abdicated  the  Brazilian  throne 
that  he  might  devote  his  life  to  placing  the  Portuguese 
crown  securely  upon  her  head.  Soon  after  expelling  the 
usurper,  Dom  Miguel,  Dom  Pedro  died  (1834).     The  young 


126  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1848-1898. 

queen,  a  girl  of  fifteen,  was  left  in  a  position  of  extreme 
difficulty.  The  country  was  in  a  condition  hardly  better 
than  anarchy,  and  was  threatened  on  one  side  by  Great 
Britain  and  on  the  other  by  Spain.  The  great  mass  of  the 
people  were  indifferent  to  politics,  either  domestic  or  for- 
eign, but  petty  chiefs,  who  could  seldom  muster  a  thousand 
followers,  kept  the  kingdom  in  continual  turmoil.  They 
veiled  their  pretensions  under  devotion  to  the  liberal  Con- 
stitution of  1812  or  the  democratic  Constitution  of  1822  or 
the  absolutist  Charter  of  1826.  But  it  is  hard  to  discern  in 
the  machinations  of  progressists  or  septembrists  or  chartists 
anything  higher  than  the  eagerness  of  men  out  of  power 
to  dispossess  those  who  held  it  and  to  obtain  it  for  them- 
selves. 

Maria  da  Gloria  was  succeeded  by  her  son,  Pedro  V. 
Since  he  was  a  minor  his  father,  Ferdinand,  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Coburg-Gotha,  acted  as  regent.  Throughout  this  reign  pes- 
tilence ravaged  the  kingdom.  The  young  king,  who  had 
become  of  age  in  1855,  devoted  himself  to  the  welfare  of 
his  people,  and  refused  to  leave  his  plague-stricken  capital. 
He  died  of  cholera  in  1861,  as  did  also  his  brothers,  Ferdi- 
nand and  John.  The  throne  was  left  to  their  brother  Luiz. 
With  him  the  shattered  kingdom  enjoyed  at  last  a  peaceful 
and  prosperous  reign.  His  death  (October  9,  1889)  caused 
profound  grief  all  over  the  country.  He  had  married  Maria 
Pia,  the  daughter  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  king  of  Italy. 
Their  son,  Carlos  I,  is  the  present  king  of  Portugal. 

No  European  dynasty  is  more  deservedly  esteemed  and 
loved  by  its  subjects  than  the  Portuguese  house  of  Braganza. 
Nowhere  is  the  stiffness  of  royal  etiquette  more  relaxed, 
and  nowhere  are  the  relations  of  sovereign  and  people  more 
familiar. 

At  the  same  time  the  condition  of  the  kingdom  is  unsat- 
isfactory. A  naturally  rich  country  is  impoverished  and 
bankrupt.  The  expenditure  exceeds  the  revenue.  It  has 
been  necessary  to  repress  the  anarchists  with  a  stern  hand. 
The  800,000  square  miles  of  colonies,  some  of  them  dating 
from  the  proud  days  of  the  nation,  are  a  burden  rather  than 
a  source  of  income,  and  have  several  times  involved  troubles 
with  other  states.  The  army  weighs  heavily  on  a  population 
of  less  than  5,000,000.  But  yet  Portugal  is  in  a  far  less 
unhappy  state  than  fifty  years  ago. 

The  constitutional  Charter  of  1826  is  still  the  fundamental 


A.D.  1898.]  SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL  127 

law.  It  has  been  modified  at  various  times,  lastly  in  1895. 
Careful  not  to  confound  administrative  functions,  it  enu- 
merates them  distinctly  as  the  legislative,  executive  and 
judicial,  and  places  above  them  the  moderative,  or  the  royal, 
power.  Its  strength  is  found  in  the  sagacity  of  the  sover- 
eign and  in  the  attachment  of  the  people  to  the  dynasty. 


]^28  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848. 


XV 

GREAT  BRITAIN 

The  British  Empire.  —  The  sovereign  of  the  British  Em- 
pire bears  the  title  of  "  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  of  its  Colonies  and  Depend- 
encies in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  America  and  Oceania." 
The  immensity  of  this  title  is  bewildering.  But  it  affords 
only  a  faint  indication  of  the  stupendous  fact  that  the  Brit- 
ish sovereign  reigns  not  only  over  the  most  enormous  empire 
the  world  ever  saw,  but  over  one  vaster  than  the  Babylo- 
nian, Persian,  Macedonian  and  Eoman  empires  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, Cyrus,  Alexander  and  Augustus  Caesar  united. 
Its  entire  territory  amounts  to  over  12,000,000  square  miles, 
almost  a  quarter  of  the  total  land  surface  of  the  globe.  Its 
inhabitants,  subjects  of  the  queen,  number  390,000,000 
human  beings,  more  than  a  fourth  of  all  mankind.  Its  pre- 
eminence upon  the  sea  is  even  greater  than  upon  the  land. 
Its  merchant  navy  has  a  tonnage  of  13,641,000  tons,  exceed- 
ing by  3,940,000  tons  the  tonnage  of  all  the  merchant  jQeets 
of  Austria-Hungary,  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Russia  and 
the  United  States  combined.  So  the  British  seamen  are 
not  far  wrong  in  regarding  every  ocean  as  a  British  lake. 

That  one  little  island,  less  than  90,000  square  miles  in 
area,  on  the  western  verge  of  Europe,  has  been  able  by  its 
brain  and  enterprise  to  exert  and  secure  such  unparalleled 
and  world-wide  dominion  is  in  itself  the  most  astounding 
fact  of  modern  history. 

British  interests,  unlike  those  of  any  other  people,  are 
universal.  It  may  be  said  that  there  is  no  point  on  the 
earth's  surface  that  in  some  way  does  not  touch  Great  Brit- 
ain. In  this  sketch  of  the  years  between  1848  and  1898 
nothing  will  be  attempted  beyond  the  outline  of  the  most 
important  facts. 

Great  Britain  in  1848.  — Queen  Victoria  had  sat  upon  the 
throne  since  June  30,  1837.  The  two  great  Whigs  were  in 
ofl&ce,  Lord  Russell  as  prime  minister,  and  Lord  Palmer- 


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A.D.  1848-1851.]  GREAT   BRITAIN  129 

ston  as  secretary  of  foreign  affairs.  It  was  the  time  of 
"unfulfilled  revolutions."  The  chartist  party,  which  had 
carried  on  agitation  since  1832,  went  to  pieces  in  a  miser- 
able fiasco  (April  10).  But  its  chief  tenets,  manhood  suf- 
frage, vote  by  ballot,  annual  Parliaments,  eligibility  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  irrespective  of  property  qualification, 
and  payment  of  members,  have  already  been  accepted,  or 
seem  about  to  be  accepted,  as  laws  of  the  land.  The  Young 
Ireland  party  attempted  armed  revolution.  Its  leaders  were 
arrested  and  sentenced,  after  trial,  to  transportation.  But 
the  Irish  question  remained  to  embarrass  legislation 
through  the  remainder  of  the  century  and  to  force  a  grad- 
ual solution. 

Repeal  of  the  Navigation  Laws  (1849).  —  These  laws  were 
enacted  in  the  days  of  Cromwell  (1651).  They  were  de- 
signed to  cripple  Holland,  then  the  chief  carrying  power, 
and  to  develop  English  shipping.  They  prohibited  the 
importation  into  England,  Ireland  or  any  English  posses- 
sion, of  merchandise  from  either  Asia,  Africa  or  America, 
except  in  English  built  ships,  commanded  by  Englishmen 
and  manned  by  crews  three-fourths  of  whom  must  be  Eng- 
lish. From  Europe  no  goods  could  be  imported  except 
under  the  same  conditions  or  in  ships  of  the  country  where 
those  goods  were  produced.  Under  these  laws  Holland  had 
been  crippled  and  the  mastery  of  the  seas  secured  to  Eng- 
land. They  had  been  gradually  modified  at  various  times. 
But  they  had  become  no  longer  necessary.  Nevertheless 
their  abolition  encountered  determined  opposition. 

The  Great  Exhibition  (1851).  —  Since  then  there  have  been 
many  universal  or  international  exhibitions,  notably  at 
Paris  (1867),  Vienna  (1873),  Philadelphia  (1876),  Paris 
(1878  and  1889),  Chicago  (1893),  but  that  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  in  Hyde  Park  was  unique,  inasmuch  as  it  was  the 
first.  Its  inception  was  due  to  Prince  Albert,  the  husband 
of  Queen  Victoria.  The  mere  proposal  to  exhibit  goods  of 
foreign  production  and  to  invite  foreigners  to  England  en- 
countered a  storm  of  vituperation  and  abuse.  The  splendid 
edifice  of  iron  and  glass  was  itself  the  most  fascinating  part 
of  a  wonderful  display.  Over  30,000  visitors  were  present 
at  the  opening  (May  1,  1851).  Tlie  time  chosen  for  the 
exhibition  was  most  propitious,  a  sort  of  interim  between 
the  revolutionary  storms  of  1848  and  the  outbreak  of  the 
Crimean  War.     The  Crystal  Palace  at  Sydenham,  erected 


130  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1851-1855. 

(1854)  from  the  materials  used  in  the  Palace  of  the  Great 
Exhibition,  now  affords  some  slight  conception  of  how  im- 
posing was  the  structure  in  which  the  nations  for  the  first 
time  met  in  peaceful  and  beneficent  rivalry. 

The  Part  of  Great  Britain  in  the  Crimean  War  (1853- 
1857).  — Various  causes  led  Great  Britain  to  participate  in 
this  war.  The  chief  was  dread  of  Russian  expansion.  It 
is  the  only  war  with  a  European  state  in  which  the  empire 
has  engaged  since  1815  down  to  the  present  time.  The 
country  could  well  be  proud  of  the  invariable  pluck  dis- 
played by  the  common  soldiers  at  Alma,  Balaklava  and 
Inkerman.  The  Crimean  campaign  gave  the  world  the  in- 
spiration derived  from  the  deeds  and  name  of  Miss  Florence 
Nightingale  and  directly  contributed  to  the  foundation  of 
the  Red  Cross  at  Geneva  in  1863.  But  in  every  other 
respect  it  brought  a  terrible  disillusion  to  the  British  people. 

The  empire,  almost  omnipotent  upon  the  water,  found  it- 
self almost  impotent  against  a  civilized  enemy  on  the  land. 
The  generals  were  incapable  and  sick.  Confusion,  disorder 
and  fraud  prevailed  everywhere.  Abundant  stores  had  been 
paid  for  and  shipped,  but  the  soldiers  were  without  food 
and  their  horses  without  hay.  Whole  regiments  were  with- 
out shoes.  Immense  quantities  of  boots  arrived,  but  were 
found  to  be  all  for  the  left  foot.  Medical  and  surgical  sup- 
plies were  always  at  the  wrong  place,  and  the  wounded  and 
cholera-stricken  received  no  care.  Most  galling  was  the 
superior  condition  of  the  French.  But  their  allies  were 
generous  and  provisions  were  constantly  sent  to  the  British 
from  the  French  camp. 

Even  on  their  own  dominion,  the  water,  there  had  been 
failure.  Amid  exuberant  demonstrations  Sir  Charles 
Napier,  with  a  magnificent  fleet,  had  sailed  to  attack  Cron- 
stadt,  but,  without  accomplishing  anything,  had  been  forced 
to  return. 

As  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  Crimea  became  gradually 
known  in  England,  there  was  an  outburst  of  popular  rage. 
Mr.  Roebuck  in  the  House  of  Commons  introduced  a  motion 
to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  army  and  the  conduct  of 
the  War  Department.  The  government  counted  on  its  nor- 
mal majority  in  a  docile  Parliament.  It  vigorously  opposed 
the  motion,  which  was  none  the  less  carried  by  a  majority 
of  157.  Indignation  had  proved  itself  stronger  than  party 
ties  (January  31,  1855). 


A.D.  1855-1857.]  GREAT  BRITAIIf  131 

The  energetic  Lord  Palmerston  became  prime  minister. 
At  once  he  despatched  a  sanitary  commission  to  the  Crimea 
and  revolutionized  the  commissary  department.  The  Brit- 
ish were  more  ready  for  war  the  day  it  ended  than  they  had 
been  at  any  preceding  time.  But  Britain  had  learned  a 
bitter  lesson.  She  set  herself  to  the  reform  of  her  military 
system.  Probably  her  grave  errors  in  that  war  she  will 
never  repeat. 

Wars  with  Persia  (1857)  and  CMna  (1857-1860). —The 
Persian  war  was  quickly  finished.  The  Shah's  army  was 
beaten  at  Koushaub  and  most  of  his  southern  ports  occu- 
pied. He  obtained  peace  on  condition  of  evacuating  Herat 
in  Afghanistan,  which  he  had  seized. 

The  Chinese  war  was  caused  by  the  overbearing  policy 
of  Lord  Palmerston.  The  cooperation  of  France  was  easily 
obtained,  as  she  had  an  outstanding  claim  against  the  Chi- 
nese. Canton  was  captured  (December,  1857).  By  the 
treaty  of  Tien  Tsin  (June,  1858)  China  agreed  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  war,  to  no  longer  apply  the  term  "  barba- 
rian "  to  European  residents  and  to  allow  British  and  French 
subjects  a  certain  degree  of  access  to  the  interior.  Again 
troubles  broke  out  (1859),  whereupon  the  allies  stormed 
Pekin,  spent  two  days  in  burning  the  summer  palace  and 
forced  China  to  accept  their  terms.  This  time  she  was  to 
pay  a  main  indemnity  of  $20,000,000,  with  other  minor 
indemnities,  to  accept  a  British  envoy  at  Pekin  and  to 
apologize  for  fighting  at  all.  The  vandalism  of  the 
allies  in  these  expeditions  was  a  disgrace  to  Western 
civilization. 

The  Indian  Mutiny  (1857-1858). — Many  causes  have 
been  assigned  for  the  Indian  mutiny.  The  all-sufficient 
cause  is  to  be  found  in  the  detestation  which  the  natives 
entertained  for  foreign  rule,  and  in  their  belief  that  at  last 
the  opportunity  had  come  to  shake  it  off.  India  was  not 
then  a  possession  of  the  British  crown,  but  of  the  East  India 
Company.  Chartered  in  1600  with  a  capital  of  £68,000, 
that  company  had  rapidly  swollen  until,  in  1857,  it  con- 
trolled a  territory  and  a  population  many-fold  larger  than 
the  territory  and  population  of  the  British  Islands.  Its 
authority  was  maintained  by  a  large  standing  army,  mainly 
composed  of  sepoys,  or  Mussulman  or  Hindu  natives,  but 
in  part  of  British  troops,  and  commanded  by  British  officers. 
In  1857  many  of  the  European  soldiers  had  been  withdrawn 


132  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1857-1861. 

and  the  sepoys  were  left  in  dangerously  large  proportion. 
The  latter  were  discontented  and  sullen.  Mutinies  were 
frequent,  but  had  been  always  put  down.  Then  a  rumor 
spread  among  the  troops  that  their  new  cartridges  had  been 
smeared  with  swine's  fat,  a  defilement  to  the  Mussulman, 
and  with  cow's  fat,  a  profanation  to  the  Hindu.  The  cav- 
alry regiment  at  Meerut  mutinied  (May  10).  Insurrection 
flooded  northern  India  like  a  volcanic  eruption.  It  was 
not  a  concerted  movement.  It  did  not  embrace  all  India. 
But  it  put  in  peril  everything  that  Englishmen  had  acquired 
in  the  peninsula  during  250  years.  It  revealed  unsurpassed 
heroism  among  the  British,  both  men  and  women,  and  made 
the  names  of  Lieutenant  Willoughby,  General  Havelock 
and  many  other  British  officers  immortal.  On  the  tomb  of 
Sir  Henry  Lawrence,  who  was  slain  during  the  siege  of 
Lucknow,  the  following  words  were  engraved,  "  Here  lies 
Henry  Lawrence,  who  tried  to  do  his  duty."  The  glorious 
epitaph  would  have  applied  no  less  well  to  hundreds  of  men 
and  women  who  died  during  that  awful  time. 

During  their  brief  day  of  power,  the  sepoys  had  inflicted 
every  conceivable  horror  upon  their  victims.  When  fortune 
changed,  their  conquerors  were  no  more  merciful.  The 
mutiny  was  not  entirely  crushed  until  June,  1858.  Soon 
afterwards  the  rule  of  the  East  India  Company  was  termi- 
nated and  the  government  of  the  country  vested  in  the 
crown.  Lord  Canning  was  appointed  the  first  viceroy  of 
India  (iSTovember,  1858). 

Lord  Palmerston  Prime  Minister  (1859-1865).  — Accused 
of  subservience  to  the  French  emperor,  Lord  Palmerston 
had  fallen  from  power  in  1858.  The  conservative  ministry 
of  Lord  Derby  and  Mr.  Disraeli  did  not  last  twelve  months. 
Lord  Palmerston  again  became  prime  minister,  Lord  Rus- 
sell secretary  of  foreign  affairs  and  Mr.  Gladstone  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer.  This  strong  Cabinet  controlled  the 
destinies  of  the  empire  for  six  years.  One  of  its  most  im- 
portant measures  was  the  Cobden  treaty  with  Prance  (1860), 
whereby  an  immense  step  was  taken  toward  free  trade.  In 
Jamaica  an  insurrection  was  repressed  by  Governor  Eyre 
with  extraordinary  severity  (1865). 

The  Civil  War  in  America  (1861-1865).  —When  the  war 
of  secession  broke  out,  the  attitude  of  Great  Britain  caused 
surprise  and  disappointment  in  America.  With  unfriendly 
haste  the  British  government  recognized  the  Confederacy  as 


A.D.  1861-1867,]  GREAT  BRITAIN  133 

a  belligerent,  and  issued  a  proclamation  of  strict  neutrality 
between  the  Federal  Union  and  the  seceded  states  (May  13, 
1861).  Then,  regardless  of  its  own  proclamation,  it  per- 
mitted privateers  like  the  Florida  and  the  Alabama  to  be 
built  in  English  yards  and  manned  with  English  sailors  in 
order  to  prey  upon  American  commerce.  Lord  Palmerston, 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  many  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, especially  liberals,  made  remarks  and  speeches  which 
left  a  sting.  The  Dake  of  Argyle,  John  Stuart  Mill  and 
the  Manchester  party  of  Cobden  and  Bright  were  staunch 
friends  of  the  North.  Mr.  Disraeli  was  absolutely  impar- 
tial. An  American  captain  forcibly  removed  Confederate 
envoys  from  the  Trent,  a  British  mail-boat  (November  8). 
This  unjust  act  was  speedily  disavowed  by  President  Lin- 
coln, but  the  negotiations  concerning  it  were  conducted  by 
the  British  secretary  in  an  arrogant  and  overbearing  tone. 
It  was  commonly  believed  that  the  American  Union  had 
broken  to  pieces,  and  Lord  Palmerston  never  spared  those 
whom  he  considered  weak.  While  the  controversy  was 
hottest,  the  calm  and  judicious  Prince  Albert  died  (Decem- 
ber 14,  1861),  as  sincerely  lamented  in  the  United  States 
as  in  Great  Britain. 

Cotton  had  been  obtained  almost  wholly  from  America. 
The  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports  cut  off  the  supply  and 
the  mills  shut  down.  Only  charity  saved  the  operatives 
from  starvation.  More  than  480,000  persons  in  cotton- 
spinning  Lancashire  received  assistance.  But  they  believed 
slavery  a  crime.  So,  despite  their  misery,  they  never  wa- 
vered in  unselfish  and  never  to  be  forgotten  sympathy  for 
the  United  States. 

Second  Reform  Bill  (1867).  —  Lord  Palmerston  died  (Octo- 
ber 18,  1865)  and  Lord  Russell  became  prime  minister. 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  chancellor  of  the  exchequer.  His 
Reform  Bill  failed,  and  Lord  Derby  and  Mr.  Disraeli 
returned  to  office.  The  latter,  convinced  that  the  country 
urgently  desired  electoral  reforms,  introduced  and  carried 
what  is  known  as  the  Second  Reform  Bill.  This  was  a 
democratic  measure,  adding  to  the  list  almost  1,000,000 
voters,  specially  among  the  workingmen.  In  the  boroughs 
all  householders  who  paid  rates  and  lodgers  who  occupied 
buildings  of  an  annual  value  of  ten  pounds  became  voters. 
So,  too,  in  the  counties  did  persons  occupying  houses  or 
lands  of  twelve  pounds  annual  value.     This  bill  abolished 


134  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1867-1869. 

many  inequalities,  disfrancliising  small  constituencies  and 
securing  increased  representation  to  large  ones. 

First  Prime  Ministry  of  Mr.  Gladstone  ( December,  1868- 
February,  1874).  The  Irish  Question.  —  The  elections  under 
the  Reform  Bill  gave  the  liberals  a  large  majority  and  made 
Mr.  Gladstone  prime  minister.  The  badly  organized  and 
ill-fated  Fenian  movement  had  been  noisily  dragging  along 
for  nine  years.  Mr.  Gladstone  grappled  at  once  with  the 
Irish  question.  Ireland  had  serious  grounds  of  complaint. 
Those  most  apparent  could  be  grouped  roughly  under  two 
heads,  the  Church  and  the  Land.  As  to  the  Church :  the 
large  majority  of  the  Irish  were  intensely  Catholic,  but  the 
Irish  state  church  was  Protestant,  Anglican  and  heavily 
endowed.  As  to  the  Land :  the  position  of  the  tenant  was 
little  removed  from  serfdom  and  he  was  practically  at  the 
mercy  of  his  landlord.  He  could  be  evicted  at  the  land- 
lord's pleasure,  and  had  no  claim  for  money  expended  and 
improvements  made.  Mr.  Gladstone's  measure  for  the  dis- 
establishment of  the  Irish  church  and  its  partial  disendow- 
ment  became  a  law  on  July  26,  1869.  His  other  measure, 
which  freed  the  tenant  from  the  grip  of  his  landlord,  guar- 
anteed him  the  fruits  of  his  labor  and  protected  him  by  a 
special  judiciary  arrangement,  became  a  law  on  August  1, 
1870. 

The  Alabama  Claims. — Under  the  "Alabama  Claims"  is 
summed  up  the  gravest  case  the  United  States  have  had 
against  Great  Britain  since  1776.  Mr.  Adams,  the  Ameri- 
can minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  gave  notice  (Novem- 
ber 20,  1862)  that  the  United  States  solicited  redress  for 
the  public  and  private  injuries  caused  by  the  Alabama. 
Lord  Russell  denied  any  British  liability  for  the  same. 
Mr.  Adams  (April  5,  1865)  submitted  an  official  memoran- 
dum of  the  losses  caused  by  the  Alabama,  and  similar  ships 
of  war  which  had  gone  from  Great  Britain.  He  had  pre- 
viously suggested  arbitration.  Lord  Russell  replied  that 
the  British  government  declined  "  either  to  make  reparation 
or  compensation  .  .  .  or  to  refer  the  question  to  any  for- 
eign state."     Succeeding  British  cabinets  were  less  reserved. 

The  Johnson-Clarendon  Convention  to  adjust  these  claims 
was  rejected  as  unsatisfactory  by  the  American  Senate 
(April,  1869).  The  United  States  took  no  further  action. 
Later  on,  when  the  European  political  sky  grew  threatening, 
Great  Britain  herself  made  overtures  for  an  adjustment 


A.D.  1869-1880]  GREAT  BRITAIN  135 

(January,  1871).  After  long  negotiations  the  whole  matter 
was  submitted  to  a  tribunal  of  arbitration,  the  president  of 
the  United  States,  the  queen  of  Great  Britain,  the  king  of 
Italy,  the  president  of  the  Swiss  Republic  and  the  emperor 
of  Brazil  each  appointing  one  commissioner.  The  tribunal, 
the  British  delegate  alone  dissenting,  decided  that  the  Brit- 
ish government  had  "failed  to  use  due  diligence  in  the 
performance  of  its  neutral  obligations,"  and  awarded  the 
United  States  an  indemnity  of  $15,500,000  (September  14,. 
1872). 

Second  Prime  Ministry  of  Mr.  Disraeli  (February,  1874- 
April,  1880). — Mr.  Disraeli  was  created  a  peer  under  the 
title  of  Lord  Beaconsfield  in  August,  1876.  His  adminis- 
tration concerned  itself  little  with  domestic  politics,  but 
won  spectacular  triumphs  in  foreign  affairs.  One  morning 
he  announced  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  he  had  secured 
Great  Britain  proprietary  control  of  the  Suez  Canal  by  pur- 
chasing the  shares  of  the  khedive  of  Egypt  for  £4,000,000 
(February,  1876).  He  consolidated  the  authority  of  the 
queen  over  India  by  inducing  her  to  assume  the  proud  title 
of  Kaiser-i-Hind,  Empress  of  India,  and  by  assembling  a 
gorgeous  durbar  at  Delhi,  where  all  the  chief  native  princes 
acclaimed  Victoria  as  the  successor  of  the  Great  Mogul 
(January,  1877).  This  dramatic  ceremony  made  deeper 
impression  upon  the  Oriental  mind  than  any  display  of 
armies  could  have  done.  By  peaceful  convention  with 
Turkey  he  acquired  the  island  of  Cyprus,  which  is  of  im- 
portance in  commanding  the  Suez  Canal,  but,  above  all, 
counterbalances  the  Russian  fortress  of  Kars  and  threatens 
the  Syrian  route  to  the  Euphrates  and  the  Persian  Gulf 
(June  4,  1878).  He  imposed  the  Congress  of  Berlin  on 
Russia  (June,  1878),  thus  forcing  that  victorious  empire  to 
submit  to  the  arbitrament  of  Europe  and  vindicating  the 
principle  that  what  concerns  all  cannot  be  decided  by  one 
alone.  The  territorial  decisions  of  that  congress,  as  of  all 
similar  international  assemblies,  were  certain  to  be  modi- 
fied by  circumstances  and  time,  but  the  fact  that  the  con- 
gress convened  was  a  striking  diplomatic  triumph  for  Great 
Britain.  The  reverse  of  the  picture  is  found  in  the  Zulu 
war  (1877-1879),  the  attempted  annexation  of  the  Trans- 
vaal Republic  (1878-1881)  and  the  second  Afghan  war  in 
search  of  "a  scientific  frontier"  (1878-1881),  none  of  which 
increased  the  reputation  of  British  justice  or  British  arms. 


136  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1880-1882. 

Lord  Beaconsfield  died  a  year  after  his  departure  from  office 
(April  19,  1881). 

Second  Prime  Ministry  of  Mr.  Gladstone  (April,  1880- 
June,  1885).  —  The  defeat  of  the  University  Bill  for  Ireland 
had  thrown  Mr.  Gladstone  from  power  in  1874.  The  Irish 
question  thrust  itself  to  the  forefront  throughout  his  second 
administration.  In  1873  the  Irish  Home  Rule  movement 
had  begun.  Its  founder,  Mr.  Butt,  and  his  great  successor 
in  leadership,  Mr.  Parnell,  were  both  Protestants.  It 
sought  self-government  for  Ireland  in  local  affairs,  but  by 
legal  means  without  violence.  In  1879  the  National  Irish 
Land  League  was  formed.  It  aimed  at  abolishing  the 
iniquitous  landlord  system  and  introducing  peasant  pro- 
prietorship. The  landlords  were  in  the  habit  of  evicting 
their  tenants  and  the  tenant  of  committing  outrages  in  re- 
venge. The  government  passed  a  coercive  act,  arrested 
Mr.  Parnell  and  the  Irish  leaders,  threw  them  into  prison 
and  suppressed  the  Land  League.  Lord  Frederick  Caven- 
dish, chief  secretary  for  Ireland,  and  Mr.  Burke,  permanent 
under-secretary,  were  assassinated  in  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin 
(May  5,  1882).  In  unhappy  Ireland  coercion  and  murder 
kept  pace. 

Occupation  of  Egypt  (1882).  —  The  khedive  acted  as  both 
ruler  and  proprietor  of  Egypt.  The  enormous  loans  which 
he  had  obtained  in  Europe  resulted  in  the  country  being 
placed  under  the  dual  financial  control  of  Great  Britain  and 
Prance.  Rapidly  succeeding  khedives  were  lazy  and  weak 
and  the  interests  of  the  natives  were  entirely  ignored. 
France  withdrew  from  the  combination.  Colonel  Arabi 
Pasha  raised  the  cry,  "Egypt  for  the  Egyptians,"  and  began 
to  fortify  Alexandria.  He  desisted  at  the  remonstrance  of 
the  British  consul.  A  native  mob  plundered  the  European 
quarter  and  murdered  several  foreigners.  Arabi  Pasha 
went  on  with  his  defences.  The  British  fleet  bombarded 
the  city,  and  meanwhile  the  infuriated  populace  massacred 
more  than  2000  Europeans  (July  12, 1882).  Two  days  later 
the  British  forces  disembarked  and  took  possession.  Arabi 
Pasha  concentrated  his  army  at  Zagazig  and  Tel-el-Kebir. 
Attacked  by  General  Wolseley  (September  13),  the  Egyp- 
tians fought  bravely,  but  finally  took  to  flight,  leaving  2000 
dead.  Arabi  Pasha  was  exiled  to  Ceylon  and  the  British 
have  since  occupied  Egypt. 

Mohammed  Achmet,  who  proclaimed  himself  the  Mahdi, 


A.D.  1882-1886.]  GREAT  BRITAIN  137 

raised  his  banner  in  the  Soudan  and  defeated  four  Egyptian 
armies  (1880-1882).  Next  he  destroyed  an  anglo-Egyptian 
force  of  10,000  men,  commanded  by  General  Hicks  Pasha 
and  forty  European  oiftcers  (October,  1883) .  Of  the  host  only 
two  persons  escaped  death.  General  Gordon  was  sent  from 
London  (January  18,  1884)  to  extricate  the  Egyptian  garri- 
sons still  remaining  in  the  Soudan.  Just  one  month  later 
(February  18)  he  reached  Khartoum,  which  was  at  once 
invested  by  the  Arabs.  In  desperate  need  of  assistance  he 
seemed  to  be  forgotten  by  his  government.  Toward  the 
end  of  the  year  a  powerful  expedition  started  with  precipi- 
tate haste  to  his  relief.  A  few  days  earlier  it  might  have 
saved  him.  Before  it  arrived,  Khartoum  had  been  captured 
and  Major-General  Gordon,  one  of  the  saintliest  and  most 
heroic  soldiers  England  ever  produced,  was  slain  by  the 
Arabs  on  January  27,  1885. 

The  Third  Reform  Bill  (June,  1885).  — This  bill  empha- 
sized the  progress  of  Great  Britain  toward  universal  suf- 
frage, adding  nearly  2,000,000  voters,  largely  from  the 
agricultural  classes,  to  the  list.  It  redistricted  the  country 
on  the  basis  of  population  and  rectified  the  former  undue 
proportion  of  members  allowed  the  towns.  Heretofore  the 
towns  had  one  deputy  for  every  41,200  inhabitants  and  the 
country  districts  one  deputy  for  every  70,800. 

First  Prime  Ministry  of  Lord  Salisbury  (June,  1885-Eeb- 
ruary,  1886).  Third  Prime  Ministry  of  Mr.  Gladstone  (Feb- 
ruary, 1886-August,  1886).  The  Irish  Home  Rule  Bill.  — 
The  liberal  majority  of  120  in  the  Commons  had  gradually 
shrunk  to  a  minority.  Lord  Salisbury  became  prime  min- 
ister. Five  months  afterwards  Mr.  Gladstone  again  took 
office.  To  the  new  House  335  liberals  had  been  elected,  249 
conservatives  and  eighty-six  Irish  home  rulers.  The  sys- 
tem of  coercion  pursued  by  Mr.  Gladstone  in  his  former 
ministry  had  utterly  failed.  Completely  reversing  his 
preceding  policy,  he  introduced  an  Irish  Home  Rule  Bill. 
The  Irish  members  abandoned  their  temporary  alliance  with 
the  conservatives  and  rallied  to  its  support.  But  the  bill 
was  opposed  by  many  liberal  leaders,  among  them  Lord 
Hartington,  Mr.  Goschen,  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  John 
Bright,  who  took  the  name  of  liberal  unionists.  It  was 
defeated  by  a  majority  of  thirty.  Parliament  was  imme- 
diately dissolved. 

Second  Prime  Ministry  of  Lord  Salisbury  (Aug.,  188C-' 


138  CONTEMPORARY  BISTORT         [a.d.  1886-1898. 

August,  1892).  — The  elections  had  given  the  conservatives 
and  liberal  unionists  a  majority  of  112  over  the  Gladstonians 
and  Irish  home  rulers  combined.  The  policy  of  Lord  Salis- 
bury's second  administration  was  vigor  in  foreign  relations 
and  renewed  coercion  in  Ireland.  The  Bering  Sea  contro- 
versy with  the  United  States  in  regard  to  the  seal  fisheries 
began  in  1886  and  was  supposed  to  have  secured  a  settle- 
ment in  1893.  Parliament  dissolved  in  1892,  having  filled 
its  allotted  span  of  six  years. 

Fourth  Prime  Ministry  of  Mr.  Gladstone  (August,  1892- 
March,  1894).  Lord  Rosebery  Prime  Minister  (March, 
1894-June,  1895).  Third  Prime  Ministry  of  Lord  Salisbury 
(June,  1895-  ).  —  This  time  the  united  Gladstonians  and 
Irish  home  rulers  obtained  a  majority  of  forty-two,  though 
among  the  English  members  there  was  an  adverse  majority 
of  seventy.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  again  prime  minister. 
The  Home  Rule  Bill,  victorious  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
was  defeated  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  a  vote  of  more  than 
ten  to  one.  The  venerable  prime  minister,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four,  resigned  his  high  office,  and  advised  the  queen 
to  intrust  Lord  Rosebery  with  the  formation  of  a  Cabinet. 

Dissensions  and  internal  rivalries  soon  further  weakened 
the  liberal  party.  At  the  elections  in  July,  1895,  the  con- 
servatives obtained  a  clear  majority  and  are  no  longer  de- 
pendent on  their  still  faithful  allies,  the  liberal  unionists, 
for  support.  The  Irish  question  could  not  however  be 
shelved.  The  ministry  itself  introduced  an  Irish  Local 
Government  Bill,  which  was  approved  by  the  House  of 
Lords  on  July  29,  1898.  The  foreign  policy  of  Lord  Salis- 
bury in  his  present  ministry  has  been  less  vigorous  than  of 
old.  In  international  questions,  like  the  Armenian  massa- 
cres or  the  Cretan  insurrection.  Great  Britain  has  been  con- 
tent to  act  or  to  abstain  from  acting  in  concert  with  the 
great  Powers.  But  no  American  should  forget,  when  re- 
calling our  struggle  of  this  present  year  with  Spain,  that 
the  sympathies  of  the  British  government  and  people  were 
almost  unanimously  upon  our  side.  Lord  Salisbury  and 
the  Englishmen  of  1898  have  not  repeated  the  blunder  of 
Lord  Palmerston  and  the  Englishmen  of  1861-1865.  On 
May  19,  1898,  Mr.  Gladstone  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight, 
admired  and  regretted  by  the  world. 

Characteristics  of  the  Reign  of  Q,ueen  Victoria.  —  The  first 
and  most  apparent  is  its  length.     Already  the  venerated 


A.D.  1838-1893.]  GREAT  BRITAIN  139 

queen  has  honored  the  throne  for  more  than  sixty-one  years. 
Edward  III  was  king  for  fifty  years  and  George  III  for 
fifty-nine.  Thus  the  present  sovereign  has  surpassed  all 
her  predecessors  in  the  length  of  her  reign.  In  its  pros- 
perity, its  increasing  imperial  strength  and  its  intellectual 
brilliancy,  the  only  other  English  reign  which  can  be  brought 
into  comparison  is  that  of  another  woman,  Queen  Elizabeth. 
But  the  England  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  an  undevel- 
oped child  beside  that  giant  among  the  nations,  the  British 
Empire  of  to-day.  This  reign  is  memorable  for  its  constant 
advance  in  political  reform.  The  Civil  Service  Reform 
(1853-1855),  the  Removal  of  all  Disabilities  from  the  Jews 
(1859),  the  Abolition  of  Army  Purchase  and  University 
Religious  Tests  (1871),  the  Ballot  Act  (1872),  the  Act  for 
the  Prevention  of  Corrupt  Practices  at  Elections  (1883),  the 
Plimsoll  Act  for  the  Better  Protection  of  Seamen  (1886), 
the  Employers'  Liability  Bill  (1897),  are  among  those 
hard-wrung  acquisitions  which,  once  secured,  contribute  to 
make  a  nation  strong  and  great. 

Mr.  Disraeli  and  Mr.  Gladstone.  —  Their  swords  first 
clashed  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  February,  1852.  The 
agony  of  their  contest  ended  only  when  Gladstone  pro- 
nounced his  eloquent  eulogy  over  the  bier  of  his  rival  in 
April,  1881.  Each  thrice  succeeded  the  other  as  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer.  In  the  same  year,  1868,  both  vaulted 
to  the  summit  of  British  political  ambition.  Twice  Mr. 
Disraeli  gave  place  to  Mr.  Gladstone  as  prime  minister. 
Disraeli,  at  first  a  radical,  became  a  conservative,  and  Glad- 
stone, at  first  a  conservative,  became  a  liberal.  In  both 
there  always  remained  something  of  their  earlier  political 
creed.  Disraeli  failed  in  his  Reform  Bill  of  1859,  but  gave 
the  workingmen  the  Reform  Bill  of  1868.  Gladstone  failed 
in  his  Reform  Bill  of  1867,  but  gave  the  agricultural  classes 
the  Reform  Bill  of  1884.  Disraeli  presented  Great  Britain 
with  Cyprus,  a  province  of  the  Sultan,  and  Gladstone  pre- 
sented her  with  Egypt,  another  province  of  the  Sultan. 
Both  were  endowed  with  unusual  talent,  but  Gladstone  was 
born  in  the  purple  of  politics  and  Disraeli  was  the  child  of 
an  ostracized  race.  To  Gladstone  honors  came  apparently 
unasked.  To  Disraeli  honors  came  because  he  forced  them 
to  come.  Each  served  Great  Britain  with  his  might.  The 
figure  of  Gladstone,  overshadowing  because  to-day  removed 
from  the  world,  hides  to  our  eye  the  titanic  proportions  of 


140  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY 

his  rival  so  long  under  the  sod.  But  as  both  recede  in  the 
horizon  of  the  past,  the  problem  will  constantly  grow  more 
difficult  as  to  which  was  the  greater.  For  nothing  is  the 
reign  more  memorable  than  that  two  such  men,  through 
almost  a  generation,  were  pitted  against  each  other  in  a 
political  duel  such  as  the  history  of  statecraft  nowhere 
else  presents. 


PARTITION  OF  AFRICA,  ASIA  AND   OCEANIA        141 


XVI 

PARTITION  OP   AFRICA,   ASIA   AND   OCEANIA 

Seizure  of  Unoccupied  Territory.  —  A  main  characteristic 
of  contemporary  history  is  the  division  among  themselves 
by  the  European  Powers  of  the  "  unoccupied "  portions  of 
the  globe.  By  "unoccupied"  are  meant  all  regions,  not 
already  reckoned  as  possessions  of  European  governments 
or  held  by  descendants  of  Europeans  who  have  burst  colo- 
nial bonds  and  founded  independent  states.  That  is,  those 
territories  which  are  not  controlled  by  Europeans,  or  by 
descendants  of  Europeans,  are  politically  reckoned  as  not 
"  occupied  "  at  all.  This  is  simply  the  application  in  the 
nineteenth  century  of  the  principle  held  unquestioned  400 
years  ago. 

The  newly  discovered  western  hemisphere  was  looked 
upon  and  treated  by  European  nations  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury as  land  destitute  of  inhabitants,  or  at  most  lived  upon 
by  inhabitants  who  had  no  political  and  almost  no  other 
rights.  The  treaties  made  with  the  natives  were  generally, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  new-comers,  merely  additional  pre- 
cautions of  self-defence,  like  the  forts  and  stockades  they 
built.  As  the  stockades  and  forts  were  abandoned,  when 
no  longer  of  advantage,  so,  as  the  colonists  grew  strong,  the 
treaties  were  commonly  forgotten.  The  exceptional  in- 
stances, when  such  was  not  the  case,  as  in  the  dealings  of 
William  Penn,  are  dwelt  upon  as  remarkable  and  awaken  no 
more  admiration  than  surprise.  Some  nations  were  less 
inhuman  than  others,  but  the  process  of  converting  the  "un- 
occupied "  into  the  "  occupied "  was  everywhere  the  same. 
Nor  did  priority  of  occupation  ensure  possession  to  one 
European  against  another,  unless  it  could  be  maintained  by 
force. 

The  entire  theory  and  practice  of  sixteenth-century  occu- 
pation has  been  revived,  specially  in  the  last  half  of  the 
present  century.  The  justice  or  injustice  of  its  application 
has  never  changed.     If  it  was  right  when,  at  the  end  of  the 


142  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d,  1848- 

Middle  Ages,  undreamed  of  regions  were  revealed  to  the 
wonder  of  Europe,  it  is  right  now.  If  it  was  wrong  then, 
it  is  wrong  now.  The  relatively  increased  superiority  of 
the  civilized  over  the  uncivilized  in  arms  and  efficiency  has 
made  latter-day  conquest  more  speedy  and  more  effectual. 
Often  it  has  been  no  less  stoutly  resisted.  But  conquest 
has  not  been  essential  to  political  occupation.  Hundreds 
of  thousands  of  square  miles  have  been  "  occupied "  with 
hardly  the  firing  of  a  shot.  International  conventions  and 
agreements  have  indicated  upon  the  map  a  partition  of  lands 
and  peoples,  of  which  meanwhile  the  human  beings  ap- 
propriated have  known  nothing. 

Before  the  year  1848  the  Western  hemisphere  was  "  oc- 
cupied." The  weakness  of  its  smaller  independent  states, 
whose  citizens  were  largely  of  European  origin,  was  pro- 
tected by  the  Monroe  doctrine  of  1823.  This  doctrine 
declared  that  the  American  continents  should  not  "  be  con- 
sidered as  subjects  for  colonization  by  the  European 
Powers."  Upon  this  declaration  Great  Britain  and  France 
have  been  the  only  European  Powers  to  infringe. 

But  the  grasp  after  empire  in  the  Old  World  outside 
Europe  during  the  last  fifty  years  has  been  feverish  and 
almost  universal.  It  has  repeated  in  spoliation  and 
appropriation  all  that  the  New  World  ever  experienced. 
Distance  has  counted  for  nothing,  and  sometimes  the 
worthlessness  of  the  acquisition  no  more.  Technically  the 
system  of  annexation  has  varied  in  different  circumstances 
and  at  different  times.  Yet,  reduced  to  plain  terms,  the 
process  has  been  uniform  and  simple,  merely  to  seize  and 
to  retain.  Previous  to  1848  only  a  relatively  small  propor- 
tion of  Africa,  Asia  and  Oceania  had  been  "occupied." 
Now  in  Oceania  there  is  hardly  an  island  over  which  there 
does  not  float  a  European  flag.  Africa  has  been  parcelled 
out  among  the  Powers  as  half  a  dozen  heirs  might  divide 
the  farm  of  some  intestate  dead  man.  Asia,  most  venerable 
in  history,  mother  of  the  nations,  has  been  compressed  in  a 
grip  ever  tightening  around  her  receding  frontiers,  or  has 
resembled  an  island  whose  diminishing  outer  rim  the 
aggressive  waters  rapidly  wear  away. 

Occupation  of  Africa.  —  In  1848  isolated  European  colo- 
nies dotted  the  coasts  of  Africa,  but  less  than  400,000  square 
miles  of  territory  acknowledged  European  proprietorship. 
Away  inland  from  this  sparse  outer  fringe  stretched  a  vague 


1898.]       PARTITION  OF  AFRICA,  ASIA  AND   OCEANIA       143 

vastitude  of  11,000,000  square  miles,  unpossessed  and  un- 
explored. All  this  enormous  territory  lias  been  mapped  out 
and  divided  up.  The  German  Empire  has  taken  1,000,000 
square  miles;  Belgium  in  the  Congo  Free  State  900,000; 
France  2,900,000;  Portugal  800,000;  and  other  less  for- 
midable national  adventurers  500,000  more.  In  all  Africa 
Morocco,  Abyssinia,  Liberia  and  a  portion  of  the  unbounded 
Sahara  are  the  only  regions  to  which  European  Powers  do 
not  put  forth  a  claim. 

Great  Britain  has  already  secured  over  3,000,000  square 
miles.  The  present  expedition  up  the  Nile  (August,  1898), 
under  General  Kitchener,  aims  at  the  conquest  of  the  Sou- 
dan between  Egypt  and  British  East,  or  Equatorial,  Africa. 
Its  already  assured  success  renders  possible  at  no  distant 
day  the  completion  of  a  British  trans-African  railway,  over 
5000  miles  long,  from  Alexandria  to  Cape  Town,  passing 
all  the  way  through  British  territory. 

The  Boer  Republics.  —  Nor  has  later  occupation  respected 
prior  rights  of  European  settlers,  except  as  vindicated  by 
arms.  The  Boers,  descendants  of  the  early  Dutch  colo- 
nists, a  simple,  primitive,  Bible-reading  people,  emigrated 
from  Cape  Colony,  after  it  became  a  British  possession,  and 
founded  on  the  north  and  along  the  coast  the  Dutch  Repub- 
lic of  Natal.  The  British,  whose  only  claim  was  founded 
on  superior  strength,  conquered  and  annexed  this  republic 
in  1843.  Again  the  Boers  emigrated,  this  time  to  the  west 
and  the  interior,  and  founded  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the 
Transvaal,  or  South  African  Republic.  The  independence 
of  both  was  formally  recognized  by  the  British  government. 
To  overthrow  these  two  states  and  annex  their  territory  of 
168,000  square  miles  has  been  the  constant  endeavor  of  the 
British  colonies  of  Natal,  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  Rhodesia, 
which  surround  the  Boer  states  except  on  the  northeast. 
The  British  government  was  persuaded  to  proclaim  the  an- 
nexation of  the  Transvaal  (April  12,  1877),  but  the  Boers 
successfully  resisted,  by  arms,  this  assault  upon  their  inde- 
pendence. Likewise,  in  1896,  they  defeated  and  captured 
a  British  force  which,  in  violation  of  all  treaties,  was  march- 
ing against  their  capital.  Any  participation  in  this  attack 
was  disclaimed  by  the  British  government,  but  the  absorp- 
tion of  the  brave  little  republics  is  only  a  question  of  time. 

Occupation  of  Asia.  —  Asia  might  appear  inviolable  with 
her  immensity  of  14,700,000  square  miles  and  her  popula- 


144  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  lS4y 

tion  of  850,000,000  souls.  Her  countless  hordes,  set  in  re- 
sistless motion  by  a  sudden  common  impulse,  were  until 
modern  times  the  terror  of  mankind.  Genghis  Khan  has 
not  been  dead  700  years  nor  Tamerlane  500.  Yet,  except 
Japan,  which  was  galvanized  into  unwilling  life  by  the 
United  States  in  1853  and  seemingly  sure  of  existence  for 
the  present,  all  Asia  is  at  the  mercy  of  Europe  and  protected 
only  by  the  jealousies  of  the  Western  states.  While  other 
nations  are  active  in  their  struggle  after  a  share  in  Asiatic 
spoils,  her  conquest  and  division  is  being  accomplished 
above  all  by  Great  Britain  and  Eussia.  Between  the  upper, 
or  northern,  millstone  of  Russia  and  the  lower,  or  southern, 
millstone  of  Great  Britain,  she  is  being  ground  with  the 
remorselessness  of  fate. 

The  barriers  of  the  Caucasus  were  overthrown  by  the 
surrender  of  the  Circassians  and  Schamyl  (1859)  to  Prince 
Bariatinski.  The  Caspian  has  become  a  Russian  lake. 
Nominally  independent  Persia  is  so  completely  under  Rus- 
sian influence  as  to  resemble  a  protectorate.  Across  the 
subjugated  khanates  of  Bokhara  (1873),  Khokand  (1875), 
and  Khiva  (1875),  Russia  has  pushed  her  outposts  as  far  as 
the  Tien  Shan,  or  Celestial  Mountains.  By  Turkestan,  Si- 
beria and  Manchuria  she  envelops  China  on  the  west,  north 
and  northeast  in  a  great  concave. 

In  Southern  Asia,  Beloochistan,  since  1854,  has  gradually 
disintegrated  into  a  British  "political  agency."  Afghan- 
istan, on  which  Great  Britain  has  expended  millions  of 
pounds  and  thousands  of  lives,  still  maintains  a  fluctuating, 
savage  independence.  Its  emir,  Abdur  Rahman,  elated 
with  his  successes,  assumed  (1896)  the  pompous  Afghan 
title  of  "Light  of  Union  and  Religion,"  but  the  division  of 
his  states  between  the  two  empires  is  not  thereby  rendered 
remote.  One-eighth  of  the  Asiatic  continent  and  more  than 
a  third  of  its  entire  population  are  contained  in  British 
India.  By  the  acquisition  of  the  feudatory  state  of  Sikkim 
(1889)  Great  Britain  plunges  through  the  Himalayas  and 
imperils  China  on  the  south.  The  kingdom  of  Burmah  was 
attacked  and  annexed  to  the  British  dominions  in  1885. 
To  Singapore  have  been  gradually  annexed,  mostly  since 
1848,  the  petty  states  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  under  the 
name  of  the  Straits  Settlements. 

The  disintegration  of  the  Chinese  Empire  was  begun  by 
the  British  in  the  opium  war  ,(1839-1842),  by  which  the 


1898.]       PARTITION  OF  AFRICA,  ASIA  AND  OCEANIA       145 

island  of  Hong  Kong  was  acquired.  The  opposite  penin- 
sula of  Kau-Lung  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain  after  the 
English  and  French  wars  with  China  in  185G-1860.  Man- 
churia, north  of  the  Amur  and  east  of  the  Usuri,  was  ceded 
to  Russia  in  1860. 

France,  eager  for  Asiatic  territory,  annexed  Cochin-China 
(1861),  Cambodia  (1862),  Anam  and  Tonking  (1884)  and 
Siam  east  of  the  Mekong  River  (1893-1896),  altogether  an 
area  of  383,000  square  miles. 

Japan,  in  one  respect  at  least,  caught  the  European  spirit. 
She  was  emulous  of  similar  conquests.  After  more  than 
three  years  of  careful  and  extensive  preparation  she  believed 
herself  ready  and  forced  war  on  China  (1894).  The  latter 
was  wholly  unprepared.  Japan  was  everywhere  victorious, 
both  on  sea  and  land.  By  the  treaty  of  Shimonoseki  (April 
16, 1895),  the  conquerors  compelled  the  cession  of  the  island 
of  Formosa  (15,000  square  miles)  and  an  indemnity  of  230,- 
000,000  taels.  Only  the  intervention  of  Russia,  Germany 
and  France  rescued  northeastern  China  from  dismemberment 
by  Japan. 

During  the  last  twelve  months  the  Western  Powers  have 
engaged  in  rivalry,  thus  far  without  warfare,  to  acquire 
Chinese  ports.  The  Germans  obtained  Kiao-chau  (Decem- 
ber, 1897),  the  Russians  Port  Arthur  and  Talien  Wan 
(April,  1897)  and  the  British  Wei-Hai-Wei  (April,  1897). 

China  is  helpless  to  protect  herself.  No  state  is  inter- 
ested to  defend  her  territorial  integrity.  A  concession  to 
any  single  Power  awakens  the  jealousies  of  the  rest,  and 
its  natural  sequence  is  the  demand  for  an  equivalent.  To 
all  she  is  vulnerable  along  the  Yellow,  the  Eastern  and  the 
South  China  seas.  To  only  two.  Great  Britain  and  Russia, 
is  she  vulnerable  by  land.  So,  to  her  perils  from  all  by 
water  are  added  perils,  more  insidious  because  less  mani- 
fest, from  the  two  most  powerful  empires  in  the  world. 
They  hem  her  in  upon  the  north,  west  and  south,  and  no 
mountain  boundaries  are  too  high  for  the  Russian  and  the 
Englishman  to  scale. 

Occupation  of  Oceania.  —  Oceania  is  a  comprehensive 
and  elastic  term,  commonly  denoting  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific  and  Indian  oceans.  The  largest  of  these,  Australia, 
because  of  its  prodigious  extent  of  over  3,000,000  square 
miles,  is  often  reckoned  a  continent.  It  is  a  British  pos- 
session.    Xow  inhabited  by  an  active  population  of  more 


146  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848- 

than  3,500,000  people,  its  first  settlement  dates  from  the 
middle,  and  its  division  into  the  five  great  constitutional 
states  of  Victoria,  Queensland,  New  South  Wales,  South 
Australia  and  Western  Australia  from  the  last  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Papua,  or  New  Guinea,  "the  largest  island  in  the  world," 
has  been  parcelled  out  between  three  Powers,  Germany  in 
1884  acquiring  72,000  square  miles  under  the  name  of 
Kaiser  Wilhelm's  land;  Great  Britain  in  1888  acquiring 
90,000  square  miles;  while  the  remainder,  150,000  square 
miles,  is  held  by  the  Netherlands. 

In  Borneo,  which  is  situated  half-way  between  Australia 
and  Hong  Kong,  a  gradual  accretion,  since  1836,  resulted 
in  a  formal  British  protectorate  (1888-1890)  over  British 
North  Borneo,  Brunei,  Sarawak  and  the  Limbang  River 
district,  altogether  about  81,000  square  miles.  Its  remain- 
ing 203,000  square  miles  belong  to  the  Netherlands. 

Madagascar,  with  its  228,500  square  miles,  is  reckoned 
"the  third  largest  island  in  the  world."  After  a  long  suc- 
cession of  wars  with  the  natives  on  the  part  of  the  French, 
it  was  recognized  by  Great  Britain  as  a  j)i'otectorate  of 
France  (1890)  and  became  fully  a  French  possession  in 
1896. 

The  three  islands  of  Tasmania,  or  New  Zealand,  comprise 
103,900  square  miles.  They  received  their  first  immigrants 
in  1839.  A  little  territory  was  ceded  by  the  native  chiefs 
during  the  following  year.  Great  Britain  was  able  to  assert 
an  undisputed  control  in  1875. 

Among  the  myriad  other  islands  are  the  more  than  1200 
Philippines  and  the  Carolines,  Sulus  and  Ladrones,  which 
for  centuries  have  belonged  to  Spain,  but  whose  destiny  is 
now  undetermined.  Their  area  is  116,256  square  miles. 
There  are  also  the  Moluccas  and  Java  and  Sumatra  and 
many  others  with  spicy  names,  making  an  area  of  338,000 
square  miles,  which,  together  with  the  Dutch  territories  in 
Borneo  and  New  Guinea,  constitute  the  Dutch  East  Indies. 
They  have  belonged  to  the  Netherlands  since  the  dissolution 
of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  in  1798. 

In  the  Pacific  Great  Britain  acquired  the  200  Fiji  Islands, 
8045  square  miles,  by  cession  of  the  native  chiefs  (1874) ; 
Pitcairn  Island  (1839) ;  Labuan  Island  (1846) ;  the  twelve 
Manihikis  (1888) ;  the  sixteen  atolls  called  the  Gilbert 
Islands  (1892);  Maiden  Island,  rich  in  guano  (1866);  and 


1898.]       PARTITION  OF  AFRICA,   ASIA  AND   OCEANIA        147 

eighteen  islands  of  the  Santa  Cruz  and  Duff  groups  (1898). 
She  has  also  secured,  mostly  since  1848,  the  fifteen  Hervey, 
or  Cook  Islands,  the  Palmerston  Islands,  Ducie  Island,  the 
Suvarof  Islands,  Dudoza  Island,  Victoria  Island,  the  five 
clusters  of  the  Tokelau  or  Union  Islands,  the  eight  Phoenix 
Islands,  the  islands  and  groups  of  the  Lagoons,  Starbuck 
Island,  Jarvis  Island,  Christmas  Island,  Fanning  Island, 
Washington  Island  and  Palmyra  Island.  She  acquired 
the  southern  half  of  the  Solomon  Islands  (1893),  Germany 
having  seized  the  northern  half  of  that  archipelago  in  1886. 
The  New  Hebrides  Islands  have  been  shared  by  Great 
Britain  and  France.  To  the  thriving  Island  of  Mauritius, 
taken  from  the  French  (1810),  Great  Britain  has  since  added 
in  one  colonial  dependency  the  Rodrigues,  Seychelles, 
Amirantes,  Cargados  and  the  Oil  Groups.  The  indepen- 
dence is  at  present  recognized  of  the  150  Tonga,  or  Friendly 
Islands.  So  is  that  of  the  Samoan  Islands  by  convention 
between  Germany,  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  in 
1889. 

The  Route  to  India.  —  To  fortify  the  sea  route  to  India  and 
to  hold  the  natural  strongholds  in  the  Red  Sea,  the  Persian 
Gulf  and  the  Indian  Ocean,  from  which  the  British  Indian 
Empire  might  be  threatened,  has  been  the  untiring  preoccu- 
pation of  British  statesmen.  This  has  been  rendered  neces- 
sary by  the  completion  of  the  Suez  Canal  in  1869.  The  chain 
of  Gibraltar  (1704),  Malta  (1800),  Cyprus  (1878)  and  the  Suez 
Canal  itself  (1876)  is  continued  by  the  volcanic  peninsula 
of  Aden  (1839),  since  enlarged  by  an  acquired  protectorate 
over  an  inland  region  of  8000  square  miles,  by  Perim  Island 
(1857),  Sokotra  Island  (1876)  and  the  Kuria  Muria  Islands 
off  the  Arabian  coast.  These  last  acquisitions  guard  the 
Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb  and  render  the  waters  of  the  Red 
Sea  more  distinctively  British  than  is  St.  George's  Channel 
between  England  and  Ireland.  The  eight  Bahrein  Islands, 
famous  for  their  pearls,  since  1857  sentinel  in  British  inter- 
ests the  mouth  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  With  what  might  seem 
superfluous  solicitude  Great  Britain  annexed  the  Andaman 
Islands  (1858)  with  a  territory  of  1760  square  miles,  the 
nineteen  Nicobar  Islands  (1869)  with  a  territory  of  634 
square  miles,  and  the  numerous  coral  group  of  the  Lacca- 
dives  with  744  square  milos. 

Results  of  Territorial  Expansion.  —  In  this  movement  of 
territorial  expansion  four  nations  have  led  the  van.     Dur- 


148  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1848- 

ing  the  last  fifty  years  Great  Britain  has  taken  possession 
of  over  3,600,000  square  miles  of  "unoccupied"  territory, 
France  of  over  3,200,000  square  miles  and  Russia  and 
Germany  of  about  1,200,000  square  miles  apiece.  Some  of 
these  acquisitions  have  been  prompted  only  by  lust  for  mere 
land  or  to  forestall  some  other  grasper.  Increase  of  area 
always  gratifies  national  vanity,  but  it  by  no  means  always 
indicates  or  secures  corresponding  increase  in  national 
wealth  and  strength. 

Whatever  the  French  and  German  colonial  possessions 
may  become  in  the  future,  thus  far  they  have  proved  only 
a  burden  and  a  cause  of  expense  without  proportionate  gain. 
In  France,  where  the  population  is  almost  stationary,  the 
land  well  divided  among  many  petty  proprietors  and  the 
colonial  instinct  weak,  there  is  little  to  impel  to  emigration. 
Algeria  is  close  to  France,  separated  only  by  the  width  of 
the  Mediterranean.  Its  natural  advantages  are  great.  No- 
where could  French  colonization  have  a  more  accessible  and 
a  more  attractive  field.  Yet,  after  sixty -eight  years  of  occu- 
pancy, the  French  colonists  are  fewer  in  number  than  those 
from  the  other  European  states,  and  the  annual  expenditure 
—  not  including  interest  on  the  growing  debt  nor  necessary 
appropriations  for  the  army  and  navy  nor  the  cost  of  origi- 
nal conquest  —  exceeds  the  revenue  by  more  than  19,000,- 
000  francs.  In  the  same  way  other  and  remoter  French 
possessions,  like  Anam,  Tonking,  Madagascar  and  Cochin- 
China,  make  no  effective  appeal  to  French  emigrants  and 
are  exhaustive  drains  upon  the  resources  of  France. 

The  Germans  are  a  more  prolific  people  than  the  French 
and  more  adventurous.  Unequal  distribution  of  land  in 
their  native  country  and  social  inequality  render  them  ready 
emigrants.  But  they  show  disinclination  to  colonize  where 
the  imperial  German  system  prevails.  The  Kameruns  in 
Africa  have  been  a  colony  for  thirteen  years.  Their  coast 
line  is  more  than  200  miles  long  and  their  area  more  than 
191,000  square  miles.  But  in  1897  they  had  only  181  Ger- 
man residents.  In  Kaiser  Wilhelm's  Land,  German  since 
1884,  there  were  in  1896  only  ninety-seven  Germans.  That 
is,  in  both  colonies  united  there  were  not  so  many  German 
emigrants  as  constantly  cross  the  Atlantic  from  Bremen  in 
a  single  ship.  There  is  not  a  state  in  the  American  Union 
in  which  there  are  not  to-day  from  four  times  to  1200  times 
as  many  German-born  inhabitants  as  in  both  these  two  pet 


1898.]      PARTITION  OF  AFRICA,  ASIA  AND   OCEANIA        149 

colonies  of  the  Kaiser.  There  are  few  if  any  German 
colonial  dependencies  where  the  revenue  is  a  third  of  the 
expenditure. 

The  acquisitions  of  Kussia  and  Great  Britain,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  been  made  in  accordance  with  the  nature 
of  their  people  and  on  the  lines  of  a  sound  policy.  Neither 
has  been  tempted  by  mere  territorial  aggrandizement  to 
acquire  or  retain  what  was  without  value  or  might  become 
a  source  of  weakness.  So  Eussia  was  ready  to  sell  Alaska, 
in  1867,  to  the  United  States  and  to  give  Japan,  in  1875, 
the  Kurile  Islands  in  exchange  for  the  southern  half  of 
Saghaiien.  Likewise,  Great  Britain,  in  1864,  could  cede 
the  Ionian  Islands  to  Greece  ;  and  Heligoland,  in  1890,  to 
Germany. 

Russia  is  an  immense,  continuous  land  empire,  situated 
in  the  north  with  a  minimum  of  coast  line.  Her  northern 
harbors  are  closed  by  ice  through  a  large  part  of  the  year, 
and  her  southern  harbors  are  prevented  by  physical  or  other 
causes  from  free  access  to  great  bodies  of  water.  Her  nat- 
ural expansion  would  be  eastward,  southward  and  toward 
the  sea.  Thus  in  the  Caucasus,  the  Ottoman  Empire, 
Persia,  Turkestan  and  China  she  has  ever  pushed  in  this 
direction.  Her  conquests  she  easily  assimilates  and  amal- 
gamates their  inhabitants  to  her  own  people. 

Britain,  the  island  centre  of  the  British  Empire,  has  no 
other  highway  than  the  seas.  Her  people  are  active,  ven- 
turesome and  aggressive.  The  contracted  limits  of  the 
island  force  the  expatriation  of  its  prolific  children.  No 
other  people  equal  them  as  colonizers  and  no  other  are  so 
at  home  the  world  over.  Commercial  instinct  joins  with 
marvellous  manufacturing  ability  to  seek  and  find  every- 
where a  market.  As  the  development  of  Russia  is  inevi- 
table and  resistless  by  land,  so  is  the  development  of  Great 
Britain  inevitable  and  resistless  by  sea. 


150  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1848-1853. 


XVII 
THE  UNITED  STATES 

American  History.  —  The  most  important  of  all  histories 
to  an  American  is  that  of  his  own  country.  Not  only  does 
it  appeal  to  his  patriotism,  but  in  it  is  found  as  nowhere 
else  the  story  of  self-government  by  the  people.  Moreover, 
during  the  last  fifty  years  few  nations  have  equalled  the 
United  States  in  contributions  to  the  sum  of  human  welfare 
and  progress.  A  history  so  interesting  and  comprehensive 
cannot  be  summed  up  nor  will  it  be  sought  in  the  limited 
compass  of  any  compendium.  This  book  deals  primarily 
with  European  history.  It  will  therefore  be  the  object  of 
this  chapter  to  merely  touch  upon  those  points  wherein 
the  United  States  have  come  in  contact  with  the  rest  of  the 
world,  rather  than  to  narrate  internal  and  domestic  affairs. 

Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  (1848).  The  Gadsden  Pur- 
chase (1853).  The  last  half  century  is  bounded  at  both  its 
beginning  and  end  by  a  war,  the  one  with  Mexico,  the 
most  powerful  and  most  populous  of  the  Spanish-American 
states,  and  the  other,  in  1898,  with  Spain  herself.  The 
first  war,  after  a  series  of  American  successes,  was  termi- 
nated by  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  (February  2, 
1848).  Thereby  the  United  States  secured  from  Mexico 
the  cession  of  526,078  square  miles  and  agreed  to  pay  in 
return  $15,000,000  and  to  satisfy  claims  of  American  citi- 
zens against  Mexico  to  the  amount  of  $3,250,000.  This 
cession  was  rounded  out  in  1853,  when  Mr.  Gadsden,  for 
the  sum  of  $10,000,000,  purchased  from  Mexico,  to  which 
he  was  the  American  minister,  45,535  square  miles  south 
of  the  river  Gila.  From  the  region  thus  acquired  have 
been  carved  California,  Nevada,  Utah,  Arizona,  and  part 
of  Wyoming,  Colorado  and  New  Mexico. 

The  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  (1850). — Intense  excitement 
followed  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  early  in  1848. 
During  the  following  year  between  80,000  and  100,000  eager 
gold  hunters  crowded  to  the  newly  opened  mines.     The 


Cofjriil.l.  lUSf,  l.y  T.  V.  Crow»M  *  Co. 


En|.»<d  b;  Culton,  Obu>i>JlCo.,  N.  V. 


A.D.  1850-1854.]  THE  UNITED  STATES  151 

United  States  already  enjoyed  the  right  of  transit  across 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  but  it  was  of  supreme  importance  to 
open  up  direct  water  communication  with  the  distant  terri- 
tory. The  consent  and  cooperation  of  Nicaragua  was  ob- 
tained by  treaty  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  from 
San  Juan  on  the  Atlantic  through  the  lake  of  Nicaragua  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  But  Great  Britain  claimed  to  exercise  a 
protectorate  over  the  Mosquito  Indians,  who  were  supposed 
to  occupy  the  eastern  coast  through  which  the  canal  was  to 
pass.  She  refused  to  permit  its  joint  construction  by  Nica- 
ragua and  the  United  States.  In  the  subsequent  negotia- 
tions between  Mr.  Clayton,  the  American  secretary  of  state, 
and  Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  the  British  ambassador  at  Wash- 
ington, who  acted  in  behalf  of  the  British  government, 
Great  Britain  scored  the  diplomatic  victory  known  as  the 
Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty.  By  this  treaty  both  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  renounced  any  exclusive  control 
over  the  proposed  ship  canal.  At  the  same  time,  they  both 
agreed  to  neither  occupy,  fortify  nor  colonize  Nicaragua, 
Costa  Rica,  the  Mosquito  coast  or  any  part  of  Central 
America.  The  British  government  asserts  that  the  first 
clause  of  the  treaty  is  still  in  force.  The  American  govern- 
ment, on  the  other  hand,  maintains  that,  as  "  Great  Britain 
has  persistently  violated  her  agreement  not  to  colonize  the 
Central  American  coast,"  the  treaty  is  void.  The  Spanish- 
American  war  of  1898  has  even  increased  the  necessity  of  a 
canal  connecting  the  two  oceans  and  has  emphasized  the 
fact  that  it  must  be  under  the  unshared  control  of  the 
United  States. 

Complications  with  Austria  (1849-1854).  —  Great  sympa- 
thy was  felt  for  the  Hungarians  in  their  struggle  with  Aus- 
tria. An  agent  was  sent  by  President  Taylor  to  obtain 
definite  information  as  to  whether  recognition  of  the  revo- 
lutionary government  was  warranted.  Afterwards  the 
frigate  Mississippi  was  commissioned  to  bring  the  exiled 
leader,  Kossuth,  to  the  United  States,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  great  enthusiasm.  The  Austrian  charge 
d'affaires  at  Washington  sharply  protested  against  the 
despatch  of  the  agent  and  the  reception  of  Kossuth.  Daniel 
Webster  had  become  secretary  of  state.  He  replied  in  a 
powerful  state  paper,  setting  forth  the  principles  by  which 
the  American  nation  considered  itself  controlled  in  dealing 
with  international  affairs. 


152  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1852-1854. 

Later  on  trouble  arose  over  Martin  Koszta,  a  Hungarian 
refugee,  who  had  filed  (1852)  his  declaration  preliminary 
to  naturalization  as  an  American  citizen.  Visiting  Smyrna 
in  Asia  Minor,  in  1854,  he  was  seized  at  the  instigation  of 
the  Austrian  consul-general  by  the  crew  of  an  Austrian 
frigate  and  thrown  into  irons.  This  was  in  contempt  of 
the  fact  that  he  had  an  American  passport  in  his  posses- 
sion. Demands  for  his  release  were  refused.  Thereupon 
the  captain  of  an  American  man-of-war,  then  in  the  harbor, 
prepared  to  use  force  and  cleared  his  deck  for  action. 
Koszta  was  then  placed  by  the  Austrians  under  the  charge 
of  the  French  consul-general,  and  was  soon  afterwards 
allowed  to  return  to  America. 

The  Ostend  Manifesto  (1854.)  — The  acquisition  of  Cuba, 
"the  gem  of  the  Antilles,"  was  ardently  desired  by  the 
Southern  states  of  the  American  Union.  Its  chronic  mis- 
government  called  forth  their  sympathy,  but,  above  all, 
if  a  possession  of  the  United  States,  it  would  add  to  their 
political  power.  Under  the  direction  of  President  Pierce 
Messrs.  Buchanan,  Mason  and  Soule,  the  American  minis- 
ters to  Great  Britain,  France  and  Spain,  met  at  Ostend  to 
consult  as  to  the  measures  necessary  for  its  acquisition 
(1854).  Then  they  issued  the  results  of  their  deliberations 
in  what  is  called  the  Ostend  Manifesto.  This  paper  set 
forth  the  grounds  on  which  the  annexation  of  the  island  was 
desired.  It  caused  a  profound  sensation  and  a  measure  of 
apprehension  in  Europe. 

Commodore  Perry's  Expedition  to  Japan  (1852-1854),  — 
In  1637  all  foreign  traders,  except  the  Dutch  and  the  Chi- 
nese, were  expelled  from  Japan.  By  exceptional  favor  the 
Dutch  were  permitted  to  occupy  the  small,  artificial  island 
of  Deshima  in  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki.  Their  commerce 
however  was  severely  restricted,  no  vessels  being  allowed 
to  enter  except  one  merchantman  a  year  from  Batavia,  the 
capital  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the 
present  century  the  Japanese  jealously  maintained  their 
seclusion  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  The  country  suffered 
under  a  dual  system  of  government,  whereby  the  power  of 
the  de  jure  ruler,  who  resided  at  Kioto,  was  curtailed  by 
the  de  facto  ruler,  the  shogun,  who  resided  at  Yedo  or 
Tokio.  Meanwhile  a  party  of  less  illiberal  ideas  was  grow- 
ing up  which,  while  detesting  the  foreigners,  desired  to 
gain  from  abroad  whatever  advantages  it  could.     It  was 


A.D.  1853-1867.]  THE  UNITED  STATES  153 

ignorant  and  ill-informed,  but  appreciated  the  superiority 
of  foreign  arms,  arts  and  inventions. 

Suddenly,  without  previous  intimation  of  its  coming,  an 
American  fleet  made  its  appearance  in  the  bay  of  Yedo 
(July  8,  1853).  The  astounded  city  was  terror-stricken. 
No  such  sight  had  ever  been  seen  in  Japanese  waters. 
That  fleet  had  left  America  late  in  1852  under  the  command 
of  Commodore  Perry,  who  was  invested  with  extraordinary 
powers  for  the  conclusion  of  treaties  with  Japan.  As  the 
bearer  of  a  letter  from  President  Fillmore,  he  refused  to 
enter  into  communication  with  any  except  the  highest  dig- 
nitaries in  the  land.  The  Japanese  were  perplexed  but 
courteous.  The  letter  was  delivered  to  the  emperor.  Then 
Commodore  Perry  sailed  away,  but  returned  in  the  follow- 
ing spring  for  his  answer.  His  diplomatic  ability  after 
tedious  negotiations  partially  broke  down  the  bars  of  sepa- 
ration. It  was  agreed  that  the  ports  of  Shimoda  and  Hako- 
date should  be  open  to  American  vessels,  that  an  American 
consul  should  reside  at  Shimoda  and  that  Americans  should 
enjoy  a  certain  liberty  of  trade  and  travel  in  some  of  the 
coast  cities.  This  first  treaty  between  Japan  and  a  foreign 
state  was  signed  on  May  31,  1854.  The  other  nations  in 
quick  succession  sought  and  obtained  the  same  advantages. 
But  it  was  the  honor  of  the  United  States  to  have  led  the 
way.  Without  the  firing  of  a  shot  she  had  opened  Japan 
to  the  brotherhood  of  nations,  and  had  brought  Western 
civilization  and  commerce  to  her  ports. 

The  United  States  and  China  (1858-1892).  —The  war  car- 
ried on  by  the  allied  British  and  French  against  China  in 
1856-1860  gave  much  concern  to  the  American  government. 
Hon.  W.  B.  Reed  was  sent  by  President  Buchanan  to  watch 
the  course  of  events  and  mediate  if  possible  between  the 
contending  parties.  On  behalf  of  his  government  he  nego- 
tiated a  commercial  treaty  with  the  Chinese,  wherein  the 
language  of  several  clauses  reveals  their  well-founded  sus- 
picion of  Western  aims  and  methods.  For  six  years  (1861- 
1867)  Hon.  Anson  Burlingame  was  American  minister  to 
the  ''Middle  Kingdom."  His  rare  tact  made  him  the  vir- 
tual director  of  the  empire  in  its  foreign  relations.  When 
about  to  return  home,  he  was  tendered  and  accepted  the 
high  position  of  envoy  extraordinary  from  China  to  the 
Western  Powers.  With  French  and  British  secretaries  and 
Chinese  attache's  he  returned  to  his  native  country,  and 


154  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1861-1865. 

there  negotiated  a  treaty,  advantageous  and  honorable  to 
both  China  and  the  United  States,  which  was  approved  on 
July  16,  1868.  Ten  years  later  (1878)  a  Chinese  embassy 
was  established  at  Washington,  when  Chen  Lan  Pin  was 
received  by  President  Hayes  as  minister  plenipotentiary. 
Fourteen  years  later  still  the  Chinese  Exclusion  Act  was 
introduced  to  "  absolutely  prohibit  the  coming  of  Chinese 
persons  to  the  United  States."  Its  object  was  to  prevent 
the  immigration  of  Chinese  laborers.  Their  immigration 
had  assumed  so  large  proportions  as  to  cause  anxiety,  spe- 
cially on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  bill,  called  the  Geary  Act 
because  introduced  by  Mr.  Geary  of  California,  after  some 
modifications  was  approved  by  both  Houses  and  received  the 
signature  of  President  Harrison  (May  5,  1892). 

The  Civil  War  (1861-1865). —The  question  of  slavery 
had  become  the  most  persistent  and  complex  in  American 
political  life.  Prominent  ever  since  the  foundation  of  the 
Union,  gradually  it  had  crowded  all  other  questions  to  the 
background.  In  1860  fifteen  states  employed  slave  labor. 
The  sixteen  other  states  did  not.  The  former  were  com- 
monly called  Southern  or  slave  states,  and  the  latter  North- 
ern or  free  states.  The  presidential  election  of  1860 
disclosed  the  nation  drawn  up  in  sectional  lines.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln uttered  a  great  truth  when  he  declared,  in  1858,  that, 
"  This  government  cannot  permanently  endure  half  slave 
and  half  free.  ...  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the 
other."  An  overwhelming  electoral  defeat  proved  to  the 
Southern  states  that  they  could  not  in  the  Union  extend  their 
peculiar  labor  system  beyond  their  own  borders.  Inside 
their  own  borders  they  believed  that  system  in  danger. 
Eleven  states  asserted  that  they  had  a  right  to  secede, 
passed  enactments  withdrawing  from  the  Union,  and  formed 
a  political  association  under  the  name  of  the  Confederate 
States  of  America. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  state  edifice  was  slavery. 
The  eleven  states  had  seceded  in  order  to  extend,  or  at  least 
perpetuate,  slavery.  The  great  majority  of  the  other  states 
regarded  secession  as  a  crime  and  took  up  arms  to  maintain 
the  Union.  The  seceded  states  took  up  arms  to  vindicate 
their  right  of  secession.  Slavery  had  brought  on  the  armed 
conflict,  but  the  perpetuity  or  dissolution  of  the  American 
Union  was  the  vital  issue. 

The  first  gun  was  fired  when  Fort  Sumter,  off  Charleston, 


A.D.  1861-1865.]  THE  UNITED  STATES  155 

South  Carolina,  was  attacked  by  the  Confederate  General 
Beauregard,  on  April  12,  1861.  The  surrender  of  the  Con- 
federate General  Lee  to  General  Grant  took  place  at  Appo- 
mattox Court  House,  in  Virginia,  on  April  9,  1865.  These 
two  events  naark  the  armed  beginning  and  conclusion  of  a 
civil  war  which,  as  to  the  number  of  soldiers  engaged,  the 
number  of  battles  fought  and  the  cost  of  the  struggle,  is 
unequalled  in  history.  To  maintain  the  Union  the  Federal 
government  brought  into  the  field  2,778,304  soldiers.  To 
overthrow  the  Union  the  Confederate  government  brought 
into  the  field  nearly  1,000,000.  Altogether  in  that  four 
years'  agony  there  were  2265  engagements,  ranging  from 
petty  skirmishes  between  handfuls  of  men  up  to  pitched 
battles  lasting  for  days  and  fought  with  ferocious  determina- 
tion between  hundreds  of  thousands.  Over  360,000  Federal 
soldiers  fell  in  battle  or  died  of  wounds  or  disease.  The 
Federal  debt  at  the  conclusion  of  the  struggle  had  swollen 
to  $2,808,5-49,437.55.  The  entire  cost  to  the  victorious 
party  is  commonly  reckoned  at  $8,000,000,000,  figures  so 
vast  that  they  baffle  realization.  "  Never  in  the  same  space 
of  time  has  there  been  a  material  expenditure  so  great." 

The  arbitrament  of  the  sword  decided  two  questions  which, 
with  equal  definiteness  and  permanence,  could  be  determined 
in  no  other  way.  The  first  question  concerned  the  American 
Union,  the  permanence  of  which  was  demonstrated  and 
guaranteed.  There  Avas  to  be  but  one  flag  from  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf.  The  second 
question  concerned  the  system  of  human  slavery,  which  was 
abolished  upon  the  continent.  Under  the  protection  of  that 
flag  all  were  to  be  free  men. 

On  April  14,  1865,  the  great-hearted  president,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, was  smitten  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  lu  his 
arduous  office  he  had  so  borne  himself  as  to  win  the  respect 
and  admiration,  not  only  of  his  own  country,  but  of  the 
world.  His  murder  called  forth  universal  expressions  of 
grief  and  horror. 

When  the  war  ended  there  was  no  proscription  of  the  con- 
quered; no  court  martials  or  gibbets  blackened  the  land. 
The  survivors  of  the  victorious  and  vanquished  hosts  re- 
turned at  once  to  the  ordinary  avocations  of  life,  and,  with 
no  shock  to  the  body  politic,  devoted  themselves  to  the 
pursuits  of  peace.  But  all  the  disorders  of  a  four  years' 
war  could  not  disappear  in  a  day.     It  is  not  strange  that 


156  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY        [a.d.  1861-1876. 

secession,  even  after  it  was  overthrown,  left  the  seceded 
states  in  an  anomalous  condition.  The  so-called  period  of 
reconstruction  lasted  for  twelve  years. 

Most  of  the  foreign  Powers,  at  least  their  governing 
classes,  had  never  believed  in  the  stability  of  the  American 
Republic.  At  first  Europe  considered  the  Civil  War  certain 
to  result  in  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  Except  as  in- 
volving larger  masses  of  men  and  spread  in  a  wider  area,  it 
was  regarded  somewhat  as  we  are  wont  to  look  upon  revo- 
lutions and  commotions  in  the  states  of  Central  or  South 
America.  As  it  progressed  the  world  looked  on  aghast  at 
the  proportions  of  the  struggle,  but  continued  incredulous 
of  Federal  success.  Napoleon  III  and  a  powerful  party  in 
Great  Britain  wished  to  recognize  the  Southern  Confederacy. 
Such  recognition  would  have  plunged  the  American  govern- 
ment in  war  with  Great  Britain  and  France,  at  a  time  when 
its  utmost  resources  were  strained  in  the  effort  to  overthrow 
the  Confederacy.  It  was  the  statesmanship  of  Mr.  Seward, 
secretary  of  state,  and  the  diplomacy  of  Mr.  Adams,  min- 
ister to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  which  rescued  the  nation 
from  imminent  foreign  peril.  But  they  could  not  prevent 
the  fitting  out  of  the  Alabama  and  of  her  ten  sister  corsairs 
in  British  ports,  which  swept  American  commerce  from  the 
sea.  The  final  adjustment  of  the  Alabama  claims  is  narrated 
in  the  chapter  on  the  British  Empire. 

Question  of  the  JTorthwestern  Boundary  (1872). — The 
water  boundary  on  the  northwestern  frontier  between  the 
United  States  and  the  British  possessions  was  still  in  dis- 
pute. A  group  of  islands,  of  which  San  Juan,  "the  Cron- 
stadt  of  the  Pacific,"  was  the  most  important,  formed  the 
so-called  Haro  Archipelago  in  the  waters  between  Vancou- 
ver Island  and  Washington  Territory.  To  these  islands 
both  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  laid  claim.  The 
question  was  submitted  by  the  two  interested  parties  to  the 
German  emperor  for  arbitration.  His  decision  assigned 
the  entire  group  to  the  United  States. 

The  Centennial  Exhibition  (1876).  — This  year  the  United 
States  celebrated  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  indepen- 
dence. It  was  felt  that  in  no  way  could  that  great  event 
be  more  fitly  honored  than  by  an  exhibition  in  which  all 
the  nations  of  the  world  should  be  invited  to  take  part.  The 
appropriate  spot  for  such  a  gathering  was  the  historic  city 
in  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had  been  signed. 


A.D.  1876-1877.]  THE  UNITED  STATES  157 

With  small  assistance  in  the  labor  and  cost  on  the  part  of 
the  national  government,  the  project  was  carried  to  a  tri- 
umphant conclusion.  The  city  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  some  of  the  thirteen  original  colonies  were 
specially  instrumental  in  its  success.  The  exhibition  was 
opened  by  President  Grant.  It  was  visited  by  9,910,000 
persons.  There  were  over  30,000  exhibitors.  Spain  and 
her  colonies  made  a  more  numerous  display  than  did  any 
other  foreign  state. 

The  Newfoundland  Fisheries.  The  Halifax  Award  (1877). 
—  The  treaties  with  Great  Britain  after  the  Revolutionary 
War  and  the  War  of  1812  left  the  rights  of  American  fisher- 
men off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  in  a  state  of  irritating 
uncertainty.  Nor  did  subsequent  efforts  to  adjust  their 
grievances  meet  much  success.  The  definite  specifications 
of  the  treaty  of  Washington  (1871),  it  was  claimed  by  the 
British  government,  granted  greater  advantages  in  the 
fisheries  to  the  Americans  than  to  its  own  subjects.  It  was 
decided  that  a  commission  of  arbitration  should  determine 
the  compensation  which  ought  to  be  paid  therefor  by  the 
United  States.  The  two  commissioners  being  unable  to 
agree,  the  Austrian  ambassador  to  London  was  invited  to 
nominate  a  third  member.  He  named  the  Belgian  minister 
to  the  United  States.  Meeting  at  Halifax  (1877)  the  arbi- 
trators decided,  by  a  vote  of  two  to  one,  that  the  United 
States  should  pay  "$5,500,000  for  the  use  of  the  fishery 
privileges  for  twelve  years." 

The  Presidential  Election  of  1876.  —  After  a  campaign  of 
unusual  vigor  the  result  was  disputed.  Mr.  Tilden,  the 
democratic  candidate,  had  received  a  plurality  in  the  popu- 
lar vote  of  250,000  over  Mr.  Hayes,  his  republican  oppo- 
nent. But  the  election  was  to  be  decided  by  the  votes  of 
369  electors,  chosen  by  the  several  states.  The  democratic 
party  claimed  203  of  these  votes,  allowing  166  to  the  repub- 
licans. The  republicans  claimed  185,  allowing  184  to  the 
democrats.  The  four  votes  of  Florida,  the  eight  votes  of 
Louisiana  and  the  seven  votes  of  South  Carolina  were 
claimed  by  both  parties.  There  were  also  difiiculties  as  to 
the  vote  of  Oregon.  The  Constitution  provided  no  way  for 
meeting  the  emergency  of  a  contested  presidential  election. 
From  November  7,  1876,  until  March  2,  1877,  the  whole 
country  was  in  intense  excitement.  Any  solution  was 
preferable  to  civil  war.     An  extraordinary  commission  was 


158  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1876-1883, 

created.  It  comprised  five  justices  of  tlie  Supreme  Court, 
five  senators  and  five  members  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  it  was  to  decide.  The  commission  consisted  of 
eight  republicans  and  seven  democrats.  By  a  strict  party- 
vote  and  a  majority  of  one,  Mr.  Hayes  was  declared  presi- 
dent. The  entire  nation  at  once  accepted  the  verdict.  It 
had  passed  through  the  most  trying  crisis  in  its  political 
history.  No  severer  test  could  have  been  applied  to  the 
patriotism  and  the  love  of  peace  of  the  American  people. 

Assassination  of  President  Garfield  (1881).  — General  Gar- 
field had  been  chosen  to  succeed  President  Hayes  and  was 
inaugurated  March,  1881.  With  Mr.  Blaine,  the  secre- 
tary of  state,  he  was  about  to  take  a  train  at  the  Baltimore 
and  Potomac  Railway  station  in  Washington  (July  2, 
1881)  when  he  was  shot  down  by  a  half-crazy  politician. 
The  murderer,  disappointed  in  his  hopes  of  securing  the 
consul-generalship  at  Paris,  had  resolved  upon  this  revenge. 
The  president  lingered  between  life  and  death,  and  in  great 
suffering,  until  September  19.  His  unflinching  patience 
and  heroism,  together  with  detestation  of  the  crime,  awoke 
profound  and  equal  sympathy  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

Civil  Service  Reform  Bill  (1883).  — Appointment  to  civil 
office,  even  in  the  early  days  of  the  Republic,  was  based 
largely  upon  the  principle  of  reward  for  party  service.  An 
incoming  administration,  on  finding  lucrative  and  important 
positions  in  the  hands  of  political  antagonists,  replaced 
them  by  its  own  adherents.  Thus  a  spoils  system  was 
rapidly  developed.  Under  it  a  new  executive  was  expected, 
and  even  required,  to  distribute  among  his  own  adherents 
the  offices  as  a  sort  of  conquered  property.  Furthermore, 
the  incumbents  were  heavily  assessed  for  contributions  to 
party  expenses.  Various  presidents  denounced  the  abuse, 
with  which  none  seemed  strong  enough  to  cope.  The  Na- 
tional Civil  Service  Reform  League,  founded  in  1881,  sought 
to  substitute  the  spoils  system  by  a  merit  system,  deter- 
mined by  competitive  examination.  After  much  agitation, 
in  1883,  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Bill,  which  had  been  in- 
troduced by  Senator  Pendleton  of  Ohio,  was  passed.  This 
act  applied  to  more  than  14,000  offices,  about  one-half  of 
which  were  in  departments  at  Washington,  and  in  twenty- 
five  specified  custom  offices,  and  the  other  half  in  twenty- 
three  post-offices.  The  act  also  aimed  at  the  suppression 
of  political  assessments  among  officers  of  the  government. 


A.D.  1883-1892.]  THE  UmTED  STATES  159 

The  Bering  Sea  Controversy  over  the  Seal  Fisheries  (1886- 
1898). — The  United  States  claimed,  by  the  purchase  of 
Alaska,  to  have  acquired  exclusive  rights  in  Bering  Sea. 
To  protect  the  fur  seals,  which  were  in  danger  of  extermi- 
nation, it  seized  Canadian  vessels  engaged  in  the  seal  fishery 
in  those  waters  (1886).  The  controversy  arising  was  sub- 
mitted to  international  arbitration.  The  commissioners 
met  at  Paris  (1893),  and  their  decisions  were  in  the  main 
unfavorable  to  the  contention  of  the  United  States.  But 
they  unanimously  prescribed  regulations  which,  if  enforced 
by  the  governments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  prevent  the  extinction  of  a 
valuable  industry.  In  1894  the  Canadian  sealers  agreed  to 
accept  $425,000  in  full  settlement  of  their  claims  against 
the  United  States,  but  the  dispute  is  not  yet  closed. 

Trouble  with  ChiH  (1891-1892). —In  the  Chilian  civil 
war  (1891),  which  ended  with  the  overthrow  and  suicide  of 
President  Balmaceda,  the  American  minister  had  shown  an 
injudicious  and  active  sympathy  for  the  defeated  party. 
Afterwards  he  had  afforded  them  an  asylum  at  his  legation 
and  extended  them  his  protection  on  their  endeavor  to  leave 
the  country.  The  Chilian  authorities  complained  at  this 
interference  with  their  domestic  affairs,  but  could  obtain 
no  redress  from  Washington.  Soon  afterwards  some  sail- 
ors of  the  American  man-of-war,  Baltimore,  on  landing  at 
Valparaiso  were  attacked  by  a  mob.  Two  sailors  were 
killed  and  eighteen  wounded.  When  satisfaction  was 
demanded,  the  Chilian  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  Senor 
Matta,  gave  an  insulting  reply.  During  the  next  month  he 
fell  from  office.  His  successor  instructed  the  Chilian  min- 
ister at  Washington  to  make  an  ample  apology.  Soon 
afterwards  he  requested  the  recall  of  the  American  minis- 
ter, Mr.  Egan,  as  a  persona  non  grata.  The  American 
government  was  dissatisfied  with  the  investigation  of  the 
murder  of  the  sailors,  refused  to  withdraw  Mr.  Egan,  sent 
Chili  an  ultimatum  and  prepared  for  war.  On  January  23, 
1892,  President  Harrison  communicated  a  lengthy  message 
to  Congress,  wherein  he  narrated  the  whole  controversy  in 
detail.  On  that  same  day,  before  the  despatch  of  the  presi- 
dential message,  a  humble  and  comprehensive  apology  was 
on  its  way  from  Chili,  which  prevented  any  further  hostile 
demonstration. 

The  Columbian  Exhibition  (1893).  —  America  was  discov- 


160  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1892-1893. 

ered  by  Christopher  Columbus  in  1492.  The  American 
government  and  people  determined  that  the  400th  anniver- 
sary of  that  event  should  be  celebrated  in  a  manner  com- 
mensurate with  its  magnitude.  It  was  decided  to  request 
all  mankind  to  participate  in  a  commemorative  world's  fair, 
to  be  held  at  Chicago,  the  metropolis  of  the  northwest.  In 
pursuance  of  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  on  April  25, 
1890,  the  president  issued  his  official  proclamation  (Decem- 
ber 24),  inviting  all  nations  to  cooperate  in  the  celebration. 
With  splendid  military  and  civil  ceremonies  the  grounds 
and  buildings  were  dedicated  to  the  grand  undertaking  in 
October,  1892. 

An  international  review,  preliminary  to  the  formal  open- 
ing, was  held  in  New  York  harbor  (April  27,  1893).  Span- 
ish warships  towed  facsimiles  of  Columbus'  vessels,  the 
Santa  Maria,  Nina  and  Pinta,  and  in  the  pageant  the  war- 
ships of  Great  Britain,  Russia,  Germany,  France  and  other 
nations  took  part.  On  the  next  day  seamen  and  soldiers 
from  the  foreign  men-of-war,  in  imposing  parade,  marched 
through  Broadway  and  Fifth  Avenue. 

On  Monday,  May  1,  President  Cleveland,  attended  by  the 
vice-president  and  cabinet,  opened  the  Exhibition  at  Chi- 
cago. The  president,  in  a  brief  address,  declared  that  the 
true  significance  of  the  scene  was  found  in  the  universal 
brotherhood  which  it  exemplified.  Then  he  pressed  the 
electric  button  which  set  in  motion  the  many  hundred  pieces 
of  machinery.  In  the  entire  area  of  666  acres,  more  than 
142  acres  were  covered  by  buildings.  Eighty-six  princi- 
palities, colonies  and  nations  were  represented  by  exhibitors, 
who,  during  the  summer,  disposed  of  more  than  $10,000,- 
000  worth  of  the  goods  which  they  displayed. 

Nor  was  the  convocation  limited  to  the  visible  and  mate- 
rial. There  was  no  branch  of  human  thought  and  activity 
which  was  not  represented  by  international  congresses  con- 
vened. Ninety-five  special  committees  watched  over  the 
general  divisions  of  the  purely  intellectual  departments  and 
appointed  advisory  councils  for  each.  It  was  a  world's 
parliament  as  much  as  a  world's  exhibition. 

No  words  can  do  justice  to,  or  give  an  idea  of,  the  splendor 
and  vastness  of  the  whole,  of  the  varied  and  exquisite 
architecture,  or  of  the  multitudes,  representing  all  races, 
languages  and  lands,  who  thronged  through  its  gates.  On 
Chicago   Day  more  than  700,000  persons  were  present. 


A.D.  1893-1896.]  THE  UNITED  STATES  161 

Before  it  closed,  on  October  30,  1893,  it  had  been  visited  by- 
over  24,000,000  people.  "Stupendous  in  conception  and 
admirable  in  execution,"  nothing  like  it  had  ever  been 
presented  to  mankind. 

The  Venezuela  Message  (December  17,  1895). — A  dis- 
pute had  long  been  going  on  between  Great  Britain  and 
Venezuela.  The  latter  country  asserted  that  the  former 
had  encroached  upon  her  territory  and  was  arbitrarily  ad- 
vancing the  boundary  of  British  Guiana  to  her  own  advan- 
tage. It  was  believed  in  America  that  Great  Britain  was 
trampling  upon  the  rights  of  a  weak  South  American  state. 
In  a  despatch  to  the  British  government  (July  20,  1895), 
Mr.  Olney,  the  American  secretary  of  state,  had  recapitu- 
lated the  points  at  issue  and  asked  for  a  definite  answer  as 
to  whether  the  British  government  would  submit  the  Vene- 
zuelan boundary  question  in  its  entirety  to  impartial  arbi- 
tration. He  added,  in  conclusion,  that  a  reply  in  the 
negative  would  contribute  to  embarrass  the  future  relations 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

The  answer  of  Lord  Salisbury,  the  prime  minister  (No- 
vember 26),  was  a  general  denial  of  the  Monroe  doctrine  as 
a  doctrine  of  international  law.  Furthermore  he  asserted 
that,  even  were  it  to  be  regarded,  that  doctrine  had  no  ap- 
plication to  the  case.  He  concluded  by  firmly  refusing  to 
even  entertain  the  idea  of  arbitration. 

In  consequence  of  this  definite  reply.  President  Cleve- 
land (December  17)  sent  a  special  message  to  Congress. 
He  expressed  his  deep  disappointment  that  Great  Britain 
persisted  in  her  determination  not  to  submit  the  matter  to 
arbitration.  He  declared  it  incumbent  on  the  United 
States,  by  investigation,  to  determine  "  the  true  divisional 
line  between  the  Republic  of  Venezuela  and  British  Guiana." 
Then,  after  having  once  ascertained  what  of  right  belonged 
to  Venezuela,  he  declared  that  it  would  be  "the  duty  of 
the  United  States  to  resist  by  every  means  in  its  power" 
any  aggression  upon,  or  appropriation  of  the  lands  of  that 
state.  This  was  a  strongly  worded  and  a  significant  docu- 
ment. It  was  received  with  applause  and  approval  in  Con- 
gress, but  popular  sentiment  was  divided.  Many  supposed 
that  Great  Britain  would  fight  rather  than  yield.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1896,  in  accordance  with  his  message.  President  Cleve- 
land appointed  a  boundary  commission  to  investigate  and 
determine  the  true  frontier.     However,  before  this  com- 


162  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY         [a.d.  1897-1898. 

mission  reported,  Lord  Salisbury  had  abandoned  his  former 
attitude  and  consented  to  a  treaty  of  arbitration  between 
Venezuela  and  Great  Britain.  This  treaty  was  finally  rati- 
fied on  June  15,  1897.  All  for  which  the  American  gov- 
ernment had  contended  was  attained. 

Annexation  of  Hawaii  (1898). — A  revolution  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  or  Hawaii,  dethroned  Queen  Liliuoka- 
lani  (January  16,  1893).  At  the  request  of  the  provisional 
government,  the  American  minister  landed  a  body  of  ma- 
rines and  proclaimed  a  protectorate  of  the  United  States 
over  the  islands  (February  1).  President  Harrison  strongly 
advocated  their  annexation,  but  the  necessary  two-thirds 
vote  in  the  Senate  could  not  be  obtained.  Mr.  Cleveland, 
who  soon  again  became  president,  opposed  the  measure 
throughout  his  entire  term.  With  the  advent  to  power  of 
President  McKinley  the  annexationists,  both  in  Hawaii  and 
the  United  States,  redoubled  their  efforts.  They  were 
strongly  supported  by  Mr.  Dole,  the  Hawaiian  president. 
The  war  with  Spain,  when  Americans  were  compelled  to 
fight  in  the  far  Pacific,  showed  still  more  clearly  the  impor- 
tance of  those  islands  to  the  United  States.  This  time  a 
two-thirds  vote  in  both  Houses  approved  annexation,  and 
the  bill  was  signed  by  President  McKinley  (July  7,  1898). 
Five  years  of  delay  had  only  increased  the  desire  for  their 
acquisition.  The  accomplished  fact  was  received  with  gen- 
eral favor  in  both  countries.  On  August  16  the  Hawaiian 
flag  was  lowered  from  the  official  staff  in  Honolulu  and  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  took  its  place. 

War  with  Spain  (1898). — It  was  unfortunate  for  Span- 
ish supremacy  that  Cuba  was  hardly  more  than  130  miles 
distant  from  the  United  States.  The  contrast  was  presented 
close  at  hand  of  two  forms  of  administration,  the  direct  op- 
posite of  each  other.  On  the  mainland  self-government  by 
the  people  afforded  material  prosperity  and  security  of  life 
and  fortune.  On  the  island  a  despotic  and  corrupt  colonial 
system  ignored  local  interests  and  sought  only  the  advantage 
of  Spain,  remote  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean.  Neither 
civil,  political  nor  religious  liberty  existed  in  Cuba.  The 
Cubans  were  excluded  from  the  public  offices,  which  were 
filled  by  Spaniards,  and  oppressed  by  a  heavy  taxation  to 
support  the  army  and  navy  which  held  them  in  subjection. 
Their  discontent  grew  more  sullen  through  generations. 
They  did  not  wish  to  become  Americans,  but  it  was  natural 


A.D.  1898.]  THE   UNITED  STATES  ;J^g3 

in  the  misery  of  their  condition  that  they  desired  to  possess 
and  exercise  some  of  the  natural  rights  which  their  Ameri- 
can neighbors  enjoyed. 

During  this  century  they  have  made  many  conspiracies 
and  insurrections.  After  Spain  overthrew  her  Bourbon 
monarchy,  in  1868,  the  Cubans  at  Manzanillo  made  a  decla- 
ration of  independence.  Most  of  the  South  American  states 
recognized  them  as  belligerents.  Spain  was  able  to  put  down 
this  movement  only  by  sending  to  the  island  150,000  sol- 
diers under  her  ablest  commanders.  The  suppression  of 
this  rebellion  required  twelve  years.  While  it  went  on, 
trade  decreased,  agriculture  was  neglected,  but  the  taxes 
were  more  than  doubled. 

During  the  period  of  partial  tranquillity  that  ensued  vari- 
ous measures  of  relief  were  proposed  by  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment. But  as  to  enforcement  they  remained  a  dead 
letter.     Slavery  however  was  abolished  in  1886. 

The  last  insurrection  assumed  alarming  proportions  in 
1894.  The  insurgents  husbanded  their  strength.  Avoid- 
ing pitched  battles,  they  devastated  the  country  and  cut  off 
Spanish  detachments  wherever  they  could.  The  reprisals 
of  both  parties  were  merciless.  A  reign  of  terror  prevailed 
except  in  the  larger  and  garrisoned  towns.  Sugar  and 
tobacco  were  the  two  chief  Cuban  products.  Incendiarism 
ruined  the  sugar  cultivation  in  1896.  A  decree  of  the  Cortes 
(May  12,  1896)  forbade  the  exportation  of  the  tobacco  leaf 
except  to  Spain.  Tobacco  leaf  exports,  over  30,000,000 
pounds  in  1895,  shrank  to  half  that  amount  in  1896.  Thus 
the  fairest  island  in  the  New  World  was  rapidly  relapsing 
into  savagery  and  becoming  a  desert.  Marshal  Campos  was 
despatched  with  large  forces  to  reenforce  the  Spanish  armies 
and  restore  order  (April  2,  1895).  General  Weyler  was 
sent  to  supersede  him  ten  months  later,  but  was  in  turn  re- 
placed by  General  Blanco  in  October,  1897.  The  latter 
came  Avith  a  proposition  of  autonomy  for  the  island.  In- 
cessantly a  procession  of  warships  was  steaming  across  the 
ocean,  bringing  arms  and  ammunition  and  men.  But  the 
insurrection  was  not  put  down.  Instead  of  showing  weak- 
ness it  developed  strength. 

An  American  instinctively  sympathizes  with  any  people 
fighting  against  oppression  and  for  freedom.  Sympathy 
for  the  Cubans  was  expressed,  as  it  had  been  many  times 
before,  in  party  platforms,  at  public  meetings,  in  the  press 


164  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1898. 

and  pulpit  and  on  the  floor  of  Congress.  With  expense  and 
difficulty  the  American  government  has  sought  through  this 
century  to  enforce  its  neutrality  laws.  When  general  ex- 
citement prevails,  this  task  is  always  difficult,  even  for  a 
limited  time.  But  when  the  disturbing  causes  are  perma- 
nent and  without  alleviation,  its  performance  becomes  well- 
nigh  impossible.  Moreover,  in  such  abnormal  condition  of 
affairs,  a  nation,  so  intimately  involved  in  both  its  material 
and  moral  interests  as  the  United  States,  has  not  only  re- 
sponsibilities to  a  foreign  government,  but  duties  to  its  own 
people  and  itself. 

The  American  people  did  not  wish  for  war ;  the  desire, 
formerly  existing  for  the  annexation  of  Cuba,  had  died 
away,  but  they  were  resolved  that  the  horrors  in  Cuba 
should  cease. 

None  the  less,  President  Cleveland  and  his  successor, 
President  McKinley,  strictly  observed  their  international 
obligations.  A  proclamation  of  warning  was  issued  (June 
12,  1895)  to  Cuban  filibusters,  and  several  men  were  arrested 
and  lodged  in  jail.  Another  proclamation  enforced  neutral- 
ity (August,  1896).  During  that  year  the  revenue  officers 
captured  seven  filibusters  and  intercepted  two  expeditions. 
Many  state  conventions  and  legislatures  in  1895  demanded 
that  the  Cubans  should  be  recognized  as  belligerents.  Reso- 
lutions to  that  effect  passed  the  Senate  by  sixty-four  votes 
to  six  and  the  House  by  244  to  twenty-seven  (April,  1896). 
Such  recognition  to  become  effective  required  the  assent  of 
the  chief  magistrate,  who  withheld  his  approval.  President 
McKinley,  in  1897  and  1898,  steadfastly  opposed  recognition 
of  the  independence  of  Cuba.  But  Spain  was  incensed  at 
the  persistence  of  the  insurgents,  at  the  impossibility  of  re- 
ducing them  to  subjection,  and  at  the  sympathy  shown  both 
them  and  the  starving  reconcentrados,  or  non-combatants, 
by  the  American  people.  Every  communication  from  the 
American  government  was  received  with  ill-disguised 
distrust  and  aversion. 

To  the  mounting  wave  of  popular  sentiment,  which 
seemed  likely  to  sweep  everything  before  it,  two  important 
events  gave  added  volume.  The  first  was  of  diplomatic 
gravity.  A  letter  was  written  by  Senor  Dupuy  de  Lome, 
Spanish  minister  at  Washington,  which  not  only  referred 
with  insulting  terms  to  the  American  chief  magistrate,  but 
contained  an  intimation  that  Spain  was  not  acting  in  good 


A.D.  1898.]  THE  UNITED  STATES  165 

faith  and  was  seeking,  by  trickery  in  her  negotiations,  to 
deceive  the  United  States.  This  letter  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  insurgents  and  was  published  (February  8,  1898). 
Senor  de  Lome  resigned,  but  he  had  caused  every  after  act 
of  his  government  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  This  in- 
cident was  trivial  compared  with  an  awful  subsequent 
tragedy.  On  February  15,  the  American  battleship  Maine, 
while  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  was  destroyed  by 
explosion.  More  than  250  officers  and  sailors  were  in- 
stantly killed.  The  American  court  of  inquiry  were  of 
opinion  that  a  submarine  mine  caused  the  catastrophe.  But 
whether  discharged  by  accident  or  design  and,  in  the  latter 
case,  by  whom,  is  unknown. 

In  view  of  possible  contingencies  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, by  a  unanimous  vote,  placed  $50,000,000  at  the 
unqualified  disposal  of  the  president  as  a  special  fund  for 
national  defence  (March  8).  The  Senate  on  the  following 
day  unanimously  approved  the  same.  After  long  delay, 
which  contrasted  strongly  with  the  feverish  impatience  of 
the  people,  President  McKinley  sent  an  elaborate  message 
on  Cuban  affairs  to  Congress  (April  11).  Temperate  but 
firm  in  tone,  it  asked  authority  for  the  president  to  termi- 
nate hostilities  between  Spain  and  Cuba  and  to  secure  tran- 
quillity to  the  tormented  island.  On  April  19  both  Houses 
recognized  Cuban  independence,  invited  Spain  to  withdraw 
her  land  and  naval  forces  from  Cuba  and  Cuban  waters,  and 
directed  the  president  to  employ  the  forces  of  the  United 
States  to  carry  these  resolutions  into  effect.  The  next  day 
an  ultimatum  was  cabled  to  Madrid.  Without  waiting  for 
its  reception,  the  Spanish  Cabinet  informed  the  American 
minister.  General  Woodford,  that  Spain  regarded  the  action 
already  taken  by  the  United  States  as  a  declaration  of 
war. 

The  war  thus  began  on  April  21.  On  July  26,  through 
M.  Cambon,  French  ambassador  at  Washington,  Spain 
opened  negotiations  for  peace.  The  conflict  had  then  lasted 
only  ninety-six  days.  Its  continuance  had  been  an  unbroken 
succession  of  calamities  for  Spain.  To  an  American  it  is 
rendered  memorable  by  the  victory  of  Admiral  Dewey  in 
Manila  Bay  (May  1)  when  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Montojo 
was  destroyed,  by  the  annihilation  of  the  squadron  of 
Admiral  Cervera  off  Santiago  harbor  (July  3),  and  by  the 
surrender  of  the  city  of  Santiago  and  of  the  adjacent  dis- 


166  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  [a.d.  1898. 

trict  with  all  the  troops  and  munitions  of  war  (July  17). 
The  whole  country  knows  the  whole  story  by  heart. 

The  peace  protocol  was  signed  (August  12)  by  Mr.  Day, 
American  secretary  of  state,  and  M.  Cambon  in  behalf  of 
Spain.  Spain  had  been  utterly  crushed  and  was  hopeless. 
Neither  had  she  received  real  friendship  from  a  single 
European  nation  in  the  hour  of  her  necessity  and  distress. 
With  generosity,  rare  on  the  part  of  a  victorious  nation,  the 
United  States  imposed  no  pecuniary  indemnity  upon  the 
vanquished.  But  Spain  was  to  abandon  all  her  trans-At- 
lantic possessions  and  withdraw  from  the  New  World.  A 
suspension  of  hostilities  was  immediately  ordered.  But  on 
the  next  day,  before  the  news  could  reach  them,  the  Ameri- 
can forces  in  the  Philippines  had  attacked  and  captured  the 
city  of  Manila. 

This  last  war  was  far  more  than  a  mere  armed  struggle 
between  two  peoples.  However  long  delayed,  the  conflict 
was  sure  to  come  between  the  democratic  spirit  of  America 
and  the  mediaeval  spirit  of  Spain.  The  continent  was  not 
broad  enough  for  the  permanent  continuance  of  two  so  an- 
tagonistic systems  face  to  face.  When  the  two  systems 
clashed  in  battle,  no  doubt  was  possible  as  to  the  ultimate 
result.  But  that  the  ships  and  sailors  of  the  United  States 
were  destined  in  contribution  to  that  result  to  achieve  the 
first  great  naval  victory  ever  won  by  a  Christian  nation  on 
the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  no  man  could  have  foretold.  If 
the  issues  at  stake  were  in  their  application  world-wide,  so 
too  was  the  arena. 

An  attempt  at  this  early  date  to  sum  up  the  consequences 
would  be  presumption.  Two  at  least  are  already  sure.  At 
home,  in  the  United  States  points  of  compass  are  blotted 
out.  The  lingering  wounds  of  the  Civil  War  are  healed. 
For  Americans  there  is  now  neither  a  north,  a  south,  an 
east  nor  a  west.  There  is  only  one  common  country. 
Abroad,  the  republic  has  made  itself  respected  and  recog- 
nized as  it  never  was  before.  Its  potent  voice  in  behalf  of 
humanity  and  freedom  has  been  heard  around  the  globe. 
The  State  can  no  longer  remain  isolated  in  the  Western  se- 
clusion if  it  would.  Almost  against  her  will  America  has 
taken  her  seat  in  the  parliament  of  the  nations. 


INDEX 


Abd-el  Kader,  Emir,  91. 

Abd-ul  Aziz,  Sultan,  92-95,  101. 

Abd-ul  Hamid  II,  Sultan,  79,  95-98. 

Abd-ul  Kerim  Pasha,  60. 

Abd-ul  Medjid,  Sultan,  74,  88-91. 

Abdur  Rahman,  Emir,  144. 

Abolition  of  army  purchase,  139. 

Abolition  of  University  lielig-ious  Tests 
Act,  139. 

Abou  Naked,  Sheik,  89. 

Abyssinia,  Italians  in,  65. 

Achmet  Pasha,  91. 

Adams,  Charles  Francis,  134,  156. 

Adis  Abeba,  treaty  of,  65. 

Adolf,  Grand  Duke  of  Luxemburg,  117. 

Adowa,  battle  of,  65. 

Adrianople,  treaty  of,  73. 

Affre,  Monseigneur,  8. 

Afghan  war,  135. 

Africa,  occupation  bj'  Europeans,  142-143. 

Alabama,  privateer,  133,  156. 

Alabama  Claims,  134^135. 

Alidja  Dagh,  battle  of,  79. 

Alaska,  149. 

Albert,  prince-consort,  129,  133. 

Albert,  Archduke,  34. 

Alexander  II,  Tsar,  20,  51,  75-84. 

Alexander  III,  Tsar,  85-86,  107. 

Alexander  I,  Prince  of  Roumania,  100. 

Alexander  of  Bulgaria,  Prince  (Prince  Al- 
exander of  Battenburg),  106,  107. 

Alexandra  of  Denmark,  Princess,  118. 

Alexandria,  136. 

Algeria,  Algiers,  148. 

Ali  Pasha,  92,  94. 

Alix  of  Hesse,  Princess,  86. 

Alliance,  of  the  Three  Emperors,  51;  Triple, 
53. 

Alma,  battle  of,  19. 

Alphonso  XII  of  Spain,  121-122. 

Alphonso  XIII  of  Spain,  123. 

Alsace,  29,  51. 

Althing,  112. 

Amadeo,  Prince,  121. 

Amba  Alaghi,  battle  of,  65. 

Amelia  of  Greece,  Queen,  108,  109. 

American  Civil  War,  77,  132-133,  154-155. 

Anam,  43. 

Andraasy,  Count  Julius,  69,  78,  82. 

AntoneUi,  Cardinal,  13,  57. 

Appomattox  Court  House,  155. 

Arabi  Pasha,  Colonel,  136. 

Arcadion,  convent  of,  93. 


Ardahan,  79,  82. 

Argyle,  Duke  of  (1861),  133. 

Armenia,  massacres  in,  97,  138. 

Army  bill  of  1862,  54. 

Arndt,  35. 

Asia,  occupation  by  Europeans  generally, 
143-145. 

Aspromonte,  engagement  at,  61. 

Athens,  and  Cretan  insurrection,  110. 

Atjeh,  insurrection  at,  117. 

Ausgleich,  68,  69,  71. 

Austria,  return  to  absolutism,  12 ;  war 
with  France  in  1859,  21 ;  war  with 
Prussia  of  1866,  33-34;  in  Triple  Alli- 
ance, 53 ;  and  Hungary,  66-72 ;  and 
United  States,  151,  152. 

Austria-Hungary,  66-72. 

Austro-Prussian  War,  83-34. 

Bach,  Alexander,  67. 

Badeni,  Count,  72. 

Baihaut,  M.,  45. 

Balaclava,  battle  of,  19. 

Balkan  States,  99-111. 

Ballot  Act,  139. 

Balniaceda,  President,  159. 

Balta  Liman,  convention  of,  100. 

Baltic  canal,  56. 

Baltimore  difficulty,  159. 

Baratieri,  General,  65. 

Bariatinski,  Prince,  144. 

Batthyany,  Count,  3. 

Bavaria,  33,  50. 

Bayezid,  79,  82. 

Bazaine,  Marshal,  27,  28. 

Beaconsfield,  Lord.     See  Disraeli. 

Beauregard,  General,  155. 

Belcredi,  68. 

Belfort,  28,  29. 

Belgium,  1830  to  1898,  115-116. 

Belooehistan,  144. 

Bem,  General,  11,  12. 

Benodek,  Marshal,  33. 

Bering  Sea  controversy,  138,  159. 

Beriin,  Congress  of,  71,  81,  83,135. 

Bernadotte,     Marshal     (Charles     XIV   of 

Sweden),  113. 
Beust,  Count  von,  68,  70,  115. 
Bismarck,  25,  29,  32,  33,  35,  52-56,  82. 
Black  Sea,  75,  77. 
Blanco,  General,  124,  163. 
Blanqui,  47. 
Boers,  143. 


167 


168 


INDEX 


Bohemia,  2-3,  33,  34,  70. 

Bonnemain,  Madame  de,  44. 

Borneo,  146. 

Bosnia,  Austria-Hungary  acquires,  71,  82. 

Boulanger,  General,  44. 

Boule,  108. 

Bourbaki,  General,  28. 

Bourgeois,  M.,  47,  48. 

Bourqueney,  M.  de,  89. 

Braganza,  house  of,  126. 

Bravo,  Gonzales,  120. 

Bremen,  55. 

Bright,  John,  133,  137. 

Brisson,  M.,  47. 

Broglie,  Duke  de,  39,  40,  42. 

Buchanan,  President,  153. 

Bulgaria,  78,  104-108. 

Bulwer,  8ir  Henry,  105,  151. 

Bundesrath,  50,  51. 

Burke,  Mr.,  136. 

Burlingame,  Anson,  153. 

Butt,  Mr.,  136. 


Cairoli,  64. 

California,  discovery  of  gold  In,  150. 

Camarilla,  119. 

Cambon,  M.,  125,  165,  166. 

Campos,  Marshal,  121,  123,  124,  163. 

Canea,  110. 

Canning,  Lord,  132. 

Canovas  del  Castillo,  122,  123,  124. 

Canrobert,  Marshal,  19. 

Caprivi,  52. 

Caratheodoridi  Pasha,  82. 

Carlist  war,  119. 

Carlos,  Don,  121,  122. 

Carlos  I  of  Portugal,  126. 

Carmen  Sylva,  101. 

Carnot,  M.  Sadi,  President,  44-46. 

Casimir-Porier,  President,  46-47. 

Castel,  Seflor,  121,  122. 

Catholic  party  in  Belgium,  116. 

Catholicism   and   French  republic,  45 ;  in 

Prussia  (1873),  52,53;   in  Austria,  67; 

In  Switzerland,  114;  in  Belgium,  116;  in 

Holland,  117  ;  in  Sp.ain,  119. 
Catholics  massacred  in  the  Lebanon,  89. 
Cavaignac,  General,  8,  9. 
Cavendish,  Lord  Frederick,  136. 
Cavour,  Count,  20,  21,  58-61. 
Centennial  Exhibition,  156-157. 
Central  Committee,  37. 
Cervera,  Admiral,  165. 
Chamberlain,  Joseph,  137. 
Chambord,  Count  of  (Henry  V),  39. 
Charles  XIV  of  Sweden.     See  Bernadotte. 
Charles  XV  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  113. 
Charles  of  Hohenzollern,  Prince,  101. 
Charles  I  (Prince  Charles)  of   Roumania, 

101. 
Charles  Albert  of  Piedmont,  4,  13,  14,  58. 
Chartists,  129. 
Chen  Lan  Pin,  154. 
Chicago,  160. 
ChiU,  159. 

Chilian  civil  war,  159. 
China,   145;    French  war,  43;  England's 


war  with,  131 ;  and  the  United  States, 
153-154. 

Chinese-Japanese  War,  145. 

Chinese  E.xclusion  Act,  154. 

Christian  IX  of  Denmark,  33,  112. 

Christina  of  Spain,  Queen,  123. 

Church.    See  Papacy. 

Cisleithania,  69. 

Civil  Service  Eeform  Act,  139. 

Civil  Service  Eeform  Bill,  158. 

Civil  Service  Eeform  League,  158. 

Civil  War,  American,  77,  132-1-33,  154-155. 

Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  151. 

Cleveland,  President,  160,  161,  162,  164. 

Clotilda,  Princess,  21. 

Cobden,  Eichard,  133. 

Cobden  treaty,  132. 

Columbian  Exposition,  159-161. 

Commune  of  Paris  (1871),  37-38. 

Concordat  of  1855,  67,  68. 

Congo  Free  State,  116,  143. 

Constantino,  Crown  Prince,  110. 

Constantino,  Grand  Duke,  74. 

Constantinople,  71. 

Constitution,  proposed  Austrian,  16  ;  Bel- 
gian, 115  ;  Bulgarian,  106 ;  of  present 
republic,  39-40  ;  in  Greece,  108  ;  in  Hol- 
land, 117  ;  Portuguese,  26-27  ;  proposed 
Eussian,  84,  85;  Servian,  103, 104 ;  Swiss, 
114-115;  Turkish,  96. 

Constitutional  Assembly,  Austrian  (1848), 
12. 

Corrupt  Practices  Act,  139. 

Cortes,  122. 

Corti,  Count,  82. 

Coup  d'l&tat  of  1851,  10. 

Couza,  Colonel  Alexander,  100,  101. 

Cretan  insurrections,  92,  97,  110. 

Crimean  War,  18-20,  74-75,  89-90,  130-131. 

Crispi,  64,  65. 

Crystal  Palace  exhibition,  129,  130. 

Cuba,  123-125, 152,  162-166. 

Culturkampf,  52-53. 

Custozza,  battle  of,  13,  34,  62. 

Cyprus,  83,  135. 

Czechs.    See  Bohemia. 

Czrnagora.    See  Montenegro. 

Dahomey,  46. 

Daiar,  battle  of,  79. 

Danilo,  vladika  of  Montenegro,  102. 

Darboy,  Monseigneur,  37. 

Day,  William  E..  166. 

Deak,  Francis,  67,  68. 

Delyannis,  M.,  109,  110. 

Dembinski,  11. 

Denmark,  112-113. 

Depretis,  64. 

Derby,  Lord,  1-32,  133. 

Dewey,  Admiral,  165. 

Disarmament,  British  court  proposes  Eu- 
ropean, 21 ;  suggested  by  Eussia,  87. 

Disraeli,  Benjamin,  132,  133,  (Lord  Bea- 
consfield),  82,  83,  135,  136,  139-140. 

Divine  Eight,  William  II  of  Germany  and 
government  by,  54. 

Djeddah,  massacres  at,  91. 

Dole,  Hawaiian  president,  162. 


INDEX 


169 


Douay,  General,  26. 
Dragomanoff,  General,  47. 
Dram  Dagh,  battle  of,  79. 
Drej-fus,  Captain,  4S. 
IJruses,  89,  91. 
Dufaure,  M.,  40,  41. 
Duflferln,  Lord,  9S. 
Dupuy,  M.,  46. 
D'Uz6s,  Duchess,  44. 

East  India  Company,  English,  131,  132. 

East  Indies,  Dutch,  117. 

Eastern  Koumelia,  Province  of,   82,   106, 

107. 
Ecumenical  CouncU,  62. 
Edhem  Pasha,  110. 
Egan,  Mr.,  159. 
Egypt,  French  and  English  control  finances 

of,  42  ;  occupied  by  British,  97,  136. 
Elena,  battle  of,  80. 
Elizabeth  of  England,  Queen,  139. 
Elizabeth  of  Eoumania,  Queen,  101. 
Empire,  British,  128  ;  Second  French,  17- 

27;    modern    German,    23,    36,    50-56; 

Ottoman,  88-98. 
Employers'  Liability  Bill,  139. 
England,   135;   in  the  Crimean  War,  18, 

130  ;  1848  to  1898,  128-140. 
Ernroth,  General,  107. 
Espartero,  Marshal,  119,  120. 
Eugenie,  Empress,  17,  26,  27,  93. 
Exposition,  International,  in  London,  129- 

130  ;  in  Paris  (1867),  23-24,  (1878),  41 ;  in 

Philadelphia,  156-157  ;  Columbian,  159- 

161;  of  1900,  48. 
Eyre,  Governor,  132. 

Talk,  Dr.,  52. 

Faure,  M.  Felix,  President,  47-49. 

Favre,  Jules,  27,  28. 

Federal  Assembly,  Swiss,  114. 

Federal  Council,  German,  50,  51. 

Federal  Council,  S\viss,  114. 

Fenian  movement,  134. 

Ferdinand  IV,  Emperor,  2,  3,  4. 

Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria,  Prince  (Prince  Fer- 
dinand of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha),  107-108. 

Ferdinand  II  of  Naples,  4,  13,  57,  60. 

Ferdinand  of  Eoumania,  Prince,  101. 

Ferdinand,  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 
126. 

Ferdinand  VII  of  Spain,  119. 

Ferry,  Jules,  42,  43. 

Fillmore,  President,  153. 

Floquet,  M.,  44. 

Florence,  62. 

Florida,  privateer,  133. 

Forey,  General,  21. 

Fort  Sumter,  154. 

Fourtou,  M.  de,  40. 

France,  under  Napoleon  III,  7-10,  17-27  ; 
and  the  Prussians,  26-29  ;  1871  to  1898, 
37-49. 

Francis  V,  Emperor,  57. 

Francis  II  of  Naples,  60,  61. 

Francis  Joseph,  Emperor,  4,  12,  22,  51,  59, 
66-72. 

Franco-Prussian  War,  26-29. 


Frankfort,  Diet  of,  45 ;  treaty  of,  29. 
Frederick  II  the  Great,  of  Prussia,  35. 
Frederick  I  of  Germanv  (Crown  Prince), 

26,  33,  34,  (Emperor)," 54. 
Frederick  VII  of  Denmark,  31,  112. 
Frederick,  Prince,  heir  to  Danish  crown, 

112,  113. 
Frederick  Charles  of  Prussia,  Prince,  33. 
Frederick  William  IV  of  Prussia,  5,  16,  31. 
Freycinet,  M.  de,  41,  42,  45. 
Fuad  Pasha,  91,  92,  94. 
Fueros,  122. 

Fundamental  Articles,  70. 
"  Fundamental  Statute,"  57. 

Gadsden  Purchase,  150. 

Gallega,  General,  124. 

Galliano,  Commandant,  65. 

Gambetta,  27,  28,  39,  41,  42. 

Garashanine,  M.,  103. 

Garfield,  President,  158. 

Garibaldi,  14,  25,  60,  62. 

Gastein.  convention  of,  33. 

GavrU  Pasha,  107. 

Geary  Act,  154. 

George  I  of  Greece,  109. 

George  of  Greece,  Prince,  97,  110. 

Germany,  unification  of,  35  ;  modern  Em- 
pire of,  36,  50-56. 

Giers,  M.  de,  85,  86. 

Gladstone,  132,  133, 134,  136, 137,  138,  139- 
140. 

Goluchowski,  Austrian  premier  in  1860,  67 

Goluchowski,  Count,  72. 

Gordon,  General,  137. 

GiJrgei,  General,  11,  13. 

Gortschakoff,  Prince,  77,  79,  82,  85. 

Goschen,  Mr.,  137. 

Gourko,  General,  80. 

Grahova,  battle  of,  102. 

Gramont,  Duke  de,  26. 

Grand  Mogul,  135. 

Grant,  President,  157. 

Gravelotte,  battle  of,  27. 

Great  Britain,  128-140. 

Great  Eedan,  19. 

Greco-Turkish  War  of  1897,  110. 

Greece,  modern,  lOS-111. 

Grevy,  President,  42-44. 

Groudsinska,  Countess,  74. 

Guadaloupe  Hidalgo,  treaty  of,  150. 

Guarantee  law,  63. 

Guizot,  89. 

Hakim,  Caliph,  89. 

Halifax  Award,  157. 

Hamburg,  55. 

Hanotaux,  M.,  49. 

Hanover,  33,  34. 

Hanseatic  League,  55. 

Harrison,  President,  154,  159,  162. 

Hartington,  Lord,  137. 

llatti  Humavoun,  90. 

Hatti  Sherif  of  Ghul  Khaneh,  88-89,  90. 

Haussmann,  Baron,  23. 

Havelock,  General,  132. 

Hawaii,  162. 

Hayes,  President,  154,  157-158, 


170 


INDEX 


Haynau,  57. 

Helena  of  Montenegro,  wife  of  Prince  of 

Naples,  103. 
Henry    V    of    France.       See    Chambord, 

Count  of. 
Herzegovina,    Austria-Hungary    acquires, 

71,  82. 
Hesse,  34. 

Hicks  Pasha,  General,  137. 
Hiller,  General,  33. 
Hitrovo,  M.,  106. 
Holland,  modern,  116-117. 
Holy  places,  question  of  the,  18,  74,  89. 
Home  Kule,  136,  137,  138. 
Hong  Kong,  145. 
Hotel  de  Ville  burned,  38. 
Hougassoflf,  General  Der,  79. 
Hovas,  43. 

Humbert  of  Italy,  King,  64-65. 
Hungary,  3^,  11-12,  67-72. 
Hunkiar  Iskelessi,  treaty  of,  73. 

Iceland,  112. 

Ignatietf,  General,  79,  85,  94. 
Imperial  Diet.    See  Keichstag. 
Imperial  Tribunal,  51. 
India,  English  in,  147. 
Indian  mutiny,  131-132. 
Inkerman,  battle  of,  19. 
Ionian  Islands,  109,  149. 
Ireland,  136,  137,  138. 
Isabella  II  of  Spain,  119. 
Ismail  Pasha,  92. 
Italia  Irredenta,  65. 

Italy,  of  1848,  4;  in  1850,  57-58;  unifica- 
tion of,  60-65. 

Jamaica,  insurrection  in,  182. 

Japan,  145,  152-153. 

Jellachich,  3,  4. 

John  of  Austria,  Archduke,  15. 

Johnson-Clarendon  Convention,  134. 

Juarez,  24. 

Kainardji,  treaty  of,  78. 

Kameruns,  148. 

Kara  George,  103. 

Karageorgevitch,  Alexander,  103. 

Kars,  19,  79,  82,  135. 

Katkoff,  85. 

Kaulbars,  General,  107. 

Khartoum,  137. 

Khodynskoye  plain,  catastrophe  of  the,  86. 

Khourshid  Pasha,  91. 

"  King  Bomba,"  14. 

Kiritli  Pasha,  92. 

Kitchener,  General,  148. 

Klapka,  General,  12,  71. 

Knoop,  Colonel,  84. 

Komorn,  battle  of,  12. 

Korniloflf,  19. 

Kossova,  battle  of,  102. 

Kossuth,  3,  11,  12,  151. 

Koszta,  Martin,  152. 

Krapotkine,  Prince,  84. 

Kriidener,  Baron  von,  80. 

Ladrone  Islands,  125, 146. 


La  Marmora,  General,  62. 

Lamartine,  7. 

Lamoriciere,  General  de,  61. 

Land  League,  Irish,  136. 

Landtage,  69. 

Latour,  12. 

Lavigerie,  Cardinal,  45. 

Lawrence,  Sir  Henry,  132. 

Layard,  Sir  Austin,  SO. 

Lebanon,  massacres  in  the,  89,  91. 

Lecomte,  General,  37. 

Ledru-RoUin,  7. 

Lee,  General,  155. 

Le  Flo,  General,  27. 

Legists,  Hungarian,  67. 

Leo  XIII,  Pope  (Cardinal  Pecci),  45,  64, 

125. 
Leopold  II,  Archduke,  57. 
Leopold  I  of  Belgium,  115. 
Leopold  II  of  Belgium,  115. 
Leopold  of  Hohenzollern,  Prince,  26,  121. 
Lesseps,  Ferdinand  de,  45,  46,  93. 
Liberal-Unionists,  137,  138. 
Library  of  the  Louvre  burned,  38. 
Liliuokalani,  Queen,  162. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  85,  154,  155. 
Lissa,  84,  62. 
Lobanoff,  Prince,  86. 
Local  Government  Bill,  Irish,  188. 
Lombardy,  59. 

Lome,  Dupuy  de,  125,  164,  165. 
London,  conference  of,  116. 
Lorraine,  29,  51. 
Louis  I  of  Bavaria,  5. 
Louis  Napoleon.    See  Napoleon  III. 
Lucknow,  132. 
Luiz  of  Portugal,  126. 
Luxemburg,  25,  115, 116. 

Macedonia,  108,  111. 

McKinley,  President,  125,  162,  164,  165. 

MacMahon  (Marshal),  21,  26,  27,  37,  (Presi- 
dent), 39-41. 

Madagascar,  43,  146. 

Magenta,  battle  of,  21,  59. 

Mahdi,  136,  137. 

Mahmoud  Nedim  Pasha,  94,  105. 

Mahmoud,  Sultan,  88,  103. 

Maine,  blowing  up  of  the,  125,  165. 

Makalle,  65. 

MalakoflF,  19. 

Manila,  125,  165,  166. 

Manin,  Daniel,  4,  14. 

Manteuffel,  Marshal,  52. 

Marc6re,  M.,  41. 

Maria  da  Gloria  II,  Dofla,  125-126. 

Maria  de  las  Mercedes,  123. 

Maria  Louisa,  daughter  of  Ferdinand  VII 
of  Spain,  119. 

Maria  Pia,  126. 

Marie  Dagmar,  Princess,  113. 

Maronites,  89. 

Matta,  Sefior,  159. 

Matveef,  84. 

Maupas,  De,  10. 

Mavrocordatos,  108. 

Maximilian  (Archduke),  Emperor  of  Mex- 
ico, 24. 


INDEX 


171 


May  Laws,  52,  53. 
Mazzini,  14,  60. 

Mehemet  Ali  Pasha,  80,  82,  96. 
Melikotf,  General  Louis,  79,  85. 
Meline.  M.,  48. 
Menelek,  65. 
Mentana,  battle  of,  62. 
Mentchikoff,  Prince,  74,  75. 
Mentshikoff,  General,  19. 
Messina  and  Garibaldi,  60. 
Metternich,  Prince,  2,  5. 
Metz,  28. 

Mexican  War,  150. 
Mexico,  24. 
Mezentseff,  84. 
Mickievitch,  87. 
Midhat  Pasha,  79,  94-97,  105. 
Miguel,  Dom,  125. 
Milan,  4,  64. 

Milan,  of  Servia,  King,  103-104. 
Milan,  King  Alexander,  104. 
Milazzo,  battle  of,  60. 
Mihtarism  in  German  Empire,  56. 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  133. 
Mirko,  102. 
Modena,  57,  60. 

Mohammed  Achmet.     See  Mahdi. 
Moldavia,  99,  100. 
Moltke,  Count  von,  26,  33,  35. 
Monroe  doctrine,  142,  161. 
Montebello,  battle  of,  21,  59. 
Montenegro,  102-103. 
Montojo,  Admiral,  165. 
Morny,  De,  half-brother  of  Louis  Napo- 
leon, 10. 
Moscow  Gazette,  85. 
Mouktar  Pasha,  79. 
Mourad  V,  Sultan,  79,  95. 

Napier,  Sir  Charles,  19,  180. 

Naples,  13,  60. 

Naples,  Prince  of,  103. 

Napoleon  III  (Louis  Napoleon),  President, 
8-10  ;  Emperor,  17-27  ;  and  Cavour,  59  ; 
and  Francis  Joseph,  59 ;  and  Confeder- 
ate States  of  America,  156. 

Napoleon  IV  (Prince  Imperial),  42. 

Napoleon,  Prince,  21,  43. 

Narvaez,  119,  120. 

Natal,  Dutch  Republic  of,  143. 

Natalie,  Queen,  104. 

National  Assembly,  French,  (1848),  7-10, 
(1871),  29,  37,  (1875),  40;  German,  15: 
Prussian,  16  ;  in  Turkey,  96. 

National  Council,  Smss,  114. 

National  Irish  Land  League,  136. 

Navigation  Act  repealed,  129. 

Netherlands.     See  Holland. 

Newfoundland,  fisheries  question,  157. 

New  Zealand,  146. 

Nicaragua  ship  canal,  151. 

Nicholas,  Grand  Duke,  80,  81. 

Nicholas  I,  Tsar,  20,  73-75. 

Nicholas  II,  Tsar,  86-87. 

Nicholas  I  of  Montenegro,  Prince,  102-103. 

Nicopolis,  battle  of  (1S77\  80. 

Nightingale,  Florence,  130. 

NihUists,  83-85. 


North  German  Confederation,  35. 
Northwestern  boundary  question,  156. 
Norway,  113. 
Novara,  battle  of,  14,  58. 

Obrenovitch,  Milosch,  103. 

Oceania,  145-147. 

Odessa,  19. 

O'Donnell,  Marshal,  120. 

Olga  of  Greece,  Queen,  109. 

OUivier,  26. 

Olney,  Richard,  161. 

Omar  Pasha,  90,  92,  94,  101,  102. 

Opium  War,  144-145. 

Orange  Free  State,  143. 

Orleans,  Duke  of,  son  of  Count  of  Paris,  43. 

Oscar  I  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  113. 

Oscar  II,  113. 

Osman  Pasha,  80,  101. 

Ostend  Manifesto,  152. 

Otho  of  Greece,  King,  108,  109. 

Ottoman  Empire,  and  Crimean  War,  18; 

1839  to  1898,  88-98. 
Oudinot,  General,  14. 

Paladines,  General  Aurelle  de,  28. 

Palikao,  Count,  27. 

Palmerston,   Lord,  91,  128,  129,  131,  132, 

133,  133. 
Pamir  difficulty,  86. 
Panama  scandal,  45,  46,  47. 
Papacy  and  modern  Italy,  4,  61-64. 
Papua,  146. 
Paris,  Congress  of,  20  ;  (1856),  77,  78,  100 ; 

siege  of,  28. 
Paris,  Count  of,  son  of  Duke  of  Orleans, 

43. 
Parliament,  Bulgarian,  106  ;   Danish,  112 ; 

first  national  Italian,  61 ;  in  the  Nether. 

lands,  117;   Ottoman,  96,   98;   Servian, 

124 ;     Spanish,     122 ;    in    Sweden    and 

Norway,     113.      See    Boule,     National 

Assembly,  Reichstag. 
Parma,  57,  59. 
Pavia,  General,  121. 
Parnell.  136. 

Pecci,  Cardinal.     See  Leo  XIII. 
Pedro  I  of  Brazil  (Dom  Pedro),  125, 
Pedro  V  of  Portugal,  126. 
Pelissier,  General,  19. 
Pendleton,  Senator,  158. 
Penn,  William,  141. 
Pepe,  Italian  revolutionist,  4. 
Perry,  Commodore,  153. 
Persano,  Admiral,  62. 
Persia,  131,  144. 
Pesth,  3,  11. 
Peter  the  Great,  73. 
Peter  II  of  Montenegro,  102. 
Philadelphia,  157. 
Philip  of  Flanders,  Prince,  101. 
Philippines.  124,  12.5,  166. 
Piedmont,  19,  20,  21,  57-60. 
Pierce,  President,  152. 
Pietrovski,  84. 

Pius  IX,  Pope,  14-15,  52,  57,  61,  62-64. 
Plebiscite,  17. 
Plevna,  siego  of,  80,  101. 


172 


INDEX 


PlimsoU  Act,  139. 

Plombieres,  interview  of,  59. 

Pobledonostseff,  85. 

Porto  Kico,  125. 

Portugal,  125-127. 

Pressburg,  3. 

Prim,  Marshal,  120,  121. 

Protestantism  in  Switzerland,  114. 

Provincial  Committees,  52. 

Provincial  Estates  of  lower  Austria,  2. 

Prussia,  revolutionary  agitation  of  1848,  6 ; 
and  Austi-ia,  30-34  ;  war  with  France, 
26-29  ;  hegemony  of,  34-35  ;  position  in 
German  Empire,  50,  51. 

Puchner,  General,  11. 

Quadrilateral,  Italian,  59 ;  Turkish,  80 ; 
eastern,  81. 

Eadetzki,  Marshal,  4,  13,  14,  57. 

Eaglan,  Lord,  19. 

Kalli,  M.,  110. 

Katazzi,  Signor,  61. 

Reconstruction  of  Southern  States,  156. 

Red  Cross  Society,  130. 

Kedcliffe,  Lord  Stratford  de,  75. 

Kedif  Pasha,  80. 

Reed,  W.  B.,  153. 

Reform  Bill,  English,  Second,    133,  134; 

Third,  137. 
Reichsrath,  69,  70. 
Reichstag,  85,  36,  50. 
Relnstein,  Captain,  84. 
Republic,    second    French,    7-10 ;    third 

French,  37-49  ;  of  Saint  Mark,  4 ;  Swiss, 

118-115.    See  United  States. 
Rhodesia,  143. 
Ribot,  M.,  47. 
Ricasoll,  Baron,  61. 
Rigsdag,  112. 
Roebuck,  Mr.,  130. 
Rome  in  1848,  14;  the  capital  of  united 

Italy,  62. 
Roon,  General  von,  33. 
Rosebery,  Lord,  138. 
Rossi,  Count,  4,  15. 
Rouher,  M.,  25,  62. 
Roumania,  99-102. 
"  Roumania  Irredenta,"  102. 
Russell,  Lord  John,  128,  132. 
Russia,  Crimean  War,  18-20  ;  and  Turkey, 

78 ;  1825  to  1898,  78-87. 
Russo-Turklsh  War,  78-81,  101. 

Sadowa,  battle  of,  38-34,  68. 

Sagasta,  122,  123,  124. 

St.  Arnaud,  10,  19. 

Saint  Mark,  Republic  of,  4. 

Salisbury,  Lord,  82,  187,  138,  161. 

Salonica,  78. 

Samoan  Islands,  147. 

San  Stephano,  preliminary  treaty  of,  79,  81, 

102,  106. 
Santiago,  165. 
Say,  Leon,  40,  41. 
Schamyl,  144. 

Schleswig-Holstein,  80-31,  32-33,  34. 
Schmerling,  67,  68. 


Schouvaloflf,  Count,  82. 

Schwartzenberg,  Prince,  11,  12,  6T. 

Scrutin  d'arrondissement,  43,  44. 

Scrutiu  de  liste,  43,  44. 

Sebastopol,  siege  of,  19-20. 

Sedan,  27. 

Sepoys,  131,  132. 

Serfs,  emancipation  of,  76. 

Serrano,  Marshal,  120,  121. 

Servia,  103-104. 

Seward,  William  H.,  156. 

Se^'mour,  Sir  Hamilton,  74. 

Sheik-ul-Islam,  94. 

Shimonoseki,  treaty  of,  145. 

Shipka  Pass,  80. 

Silistria,  defence  of,  90. 

Simon,  Jules,  27,  40,  42. 

Simpson,  General  .James,  19. 

Skobeleff,  General,  80. 

Skoupchtina,  108. 

Slavery  abolished  in  Cuba,  163, 

Slavs,  70. 

Slivnitza,  battle  of,  104,  107. 

Sobranie,  106. 

Socialism,  German,  56. 

Solferino,  battle  of,  21,  59. 

Sonderbund,  114. 

Soudan,  137,  143. 

Souleiman  Pasha,  80. 

Spain,  1833  to  1898,  119-125. 

Spanish-American  War,  125,  162-166. 

Spanish  succession  question  of  1870,  26. 

Stambouloflf,  M.,  107,  108. 

State  Council,  Swiss,  114. 

Stein,  Baron,  35. 

Stoiloff,  Dr.,  107. 

Strasburg  taken  by  Germans,  28. 

Suez  Canal,  98, 135, 147. 

Sweden,  118. 

Switzerland,  118-115. 

Taafife,  Count,  72. 

Tamatave,  43. 

Taylor,  President,  151. 

Tchernaieff,  General,  78. 

Tchernaya,  battle  of,  19,  59. 

Tegetthoflf,  Admiral,  34. 

Temesvar,  battle  of,  12. 

Thessaly,  110. 

Thiers,  26,  27,  28,  29,  37,  38,  41. 

Thomas,  General,  37. 

Three  Emperors,  Alliance  of  the,  51. 

Tien  Tsin,  treatv  of,  131. 

Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  157. 

Tirard,  M.,  44,  45. 

Tirnova,  106. 

Todleben,  General,  19,  80. 

Tolstoi,  Count,  85. 

Tonquin,  43. 

Transleithania,  69. 

Transvaal,  143. 

Transvaal  Republic,  135. 

Trent  affair,  138. 

Tricoupis,  M.,  109. 

Triple  Alliance,  53. 

Trochu,  General,  27. 

Tserkoria,  battle  of,  80. 

Tuilerles,  burned,  38. 


INDEX 


173 


Tunis,  42,  64. 

Turkey.    See  Ottoman  Empire. 

Tuscany,  59. 

Two  SiciUes,  57,  60,  61. 

United  Provinces.     See  Belgium,  Holland. 
United  States,  150-166 ;  and  Napoleon  III, 

24 ;  and  Cuba,  124-125. 
Unterwalden,  114. 
Uri,  114. 

Valdez,  General,  124. 

Vassos,  Colonel,  97,  110. 

Venezuela,  161. 

Venezuelan  message,  161. 

Venice,  61,  62. 

Verdun  captured  by  the  Germans,  28. 

Versailles,  German  Empire  proclaimed  at, 

28,  36 ;  seat  of  French  government,  40. 
Vichnegradzy,  86. 
Victor  Emmanuel,  14,  58-64. 
Victoria  of  Germany,  Empress,  54. 
Victoria,  Queen,  128-140. 
Vienna  in  1848,  2  ;  treaty  of  (1864),  32. 
"  Vienna  note,"  75. 
Villafranca,  peace  of,  22,  59,  60. 
Villages,  12. 
Vladimir,  brother  of  Tsar  Alexander  III, 

86. 

Waddington,  M.,  41,  82. 
"Waldeck-Rousseau,  47. 
Waldersee,  Count  of,  55. 
Wallachia,  99,  100. 
War  of  1859,  Italian,  59. 
Warsaw,  87. 


Washington,  treaty  of,  157. 

Webster,  Daniel,  151. 

Weissenburg,  battle  of,  26. 

Wessir  Pasha,  81. 

West  Indies,  Dutch,  117. 

Weyler,  General,  124,  163. 

White,  Sir  William,  98. 

Wied,  Princess  of,  101. 

Wilhelm  of  Denmark,  Prince,  109,  113. 

Wilhelmina  of  Holland,  Queen,  117. 

William   I  (king   of    Prussia),   26,   31-36, 

(Emperor  of  Germany),  51,  54. 
William  II  of  Germany,  Emperor,  54-56. 
William  II  of  Holland,  116. 
William  III  of  Holland,  117. 
William  the  Silent,  117. 
Willoughby,  Lieutenant,  132. 
Wilson,  M.,43. 
Windischgratz,  11. 
Wolseley,  General,  136. 
Woodford,  General,  125,  165. 
Worth,  battle  of,  26. 
Wiirtemberg,  35,  50. 

Yassy,  treaty  of,  73. 
Young  Ireland  party,  129. 
Young  Turkey  party,  95. 
Yusuf  Izeddin,  95. 

ZankofiF,  M.,  106,  107. 

Zewin,  battle  of,  79. 

Zola,  48. 

ZoUverein,  53. 

Zug,  114. 

Zulu  war,  135. 

Zurich,  treaty  of  (1852),  22 ;  (1859),  60. 


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